Night Gallery : Santa Paula’s Hilltop Sculpture Is Illuminating, but Not All the Local Reviews Are Glowing

Soon after darkness falls every night, a cool green glow flickers to life in the hills above Santa Paula.

It’s visible for miles along the Santa Paula Freeway, and theories of its origin have run the gamut from UFO landing site to experimental oil rig.

Artist and creator Steven A. Simon wanted only to have his 30-foot-tall, 18-inch-wide sculpture noticed. And that he has done.

“I think it’s beautiful,” said Tony Pawlak, who owns property next to the sculpture. “It glows like an emerald at night.”

Despite Pawlak’s enthusiasm, others in the community think the sculpture, which Simon named “Component,” belongs somewhere else.

“It did not pique my interest at all,” said Dan Robles, a native of Santa Paula. “It seems out of place because the night sky is always so dark there. It’s an unnatural phenomenon.”

But Simon says the sculpture is as natural as it can be, because it absorbs energy from the sun--something he is passionate about.

“I want people to see this and become aware that we can protect our environment by using solar energy instead of fuel,” said Simon, as he stood near his creation one recent evening. “We have so much sunlight in California, why not take advantage of that?”

Simon, who lives in Encino, got the raw materials for the tower three years ago when he discovered a stash of discarded computer circuit boards in a scrap yard.

Intrigued by the translucent panels, Simon resolved to find a use for them.

Six months ago, his friend, Chuck McClellan--who owns a ranch in Santa Paula--asked Simon to design a sculpture for a hilltop on his property.

Simon, who had already built a similar sculpture for Moorpark College, decided to use the computer boards to design a much bigger piece.

“When Chuck said a sculpture, the first thing I thought was a solar energy piece,” Simon said.

So armed with chunks of aluminum, 60 computer boards, lights and wires, Simon built “Component.” He used an old printing press to support the tower, which beams every day from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Solar panels charge eight 12-volt batteries during the day. At night, the batteries power six fluorescent lights, illuminating the computer boards and creating a neon-green glimmer.

He said he named it “Component” “because it looks like part of the environment. It’s like a site-specific sculpture.”

Although the sculpture has stood like a ribbon on the rugged hill for three months, it continues to draw skeptical responses from some residents.

“When I first saw it, I thought it was a UFO,” said Ramon Urrutia, who has lived in Santa Paula most of his life. “It looked so weird that I thought it had to be from outer space.”

Santa Paula Fire Chief Paul Skeels, who lives a quarter-mile from the sculpture, says he is indifferent.

“It doesn’t bother me one way or another,” Skeels said. “It’s just a lit object in the sky. I was curious to know what it was when I first saw it, but it’s just there.”

Simon said before he lit the sculpture, he notified local authorities.

“I didn’t want anyone to be alarmed,” Simon said. “After all, this is not something you see everyday.”