A Project of the Tucson Pima Arts Council

Spiritus Noctum (Night Spirit)
by Daniel Martin Diaz
Sponsor: Pizza Hut of Arizona
Nonprofit: Homicide Survivors

When I received the prospectus for the Luminarias del Pueblo Project, I was intrigued by the idea of installing giant-size luminarias throughout Tucson. As I was considering the powerful way light attracts insects, animals, and yes, people, and that one of the purposes of the project was to attract visitors to Tucson, I thought to myself, “What a brilliant idea.”

Light can also act as a guide in the darkness, this why I chose to call my design, Spiritus Noctum, which in Latin translates to Night Spirit. My hope is for Spiritus Noctum to be both beautiful and attractive as it illuminates the Tucson night sky. It incorporates the use of solar powered lighting fixtures to illuminate a decorative four-sided Rose Window with Amber Glass cutout design, as well as, other smaller decorative cutout embellishments that enhance it's beauty. In the daytime it will be equally as attractive as the brilliant desert sunlight beams through the decorative cutout designs and as passersby glimpse it's timeless natural rusted metal façade constructed of a sturdy weather resistant metal design they will be drawn to its detail and intricacies.

I have chosen to include a rusted metal overlay with the inscription, “Tucson, Arizona 1775,” as a historical reference to the founding of our great city. I feel that this reminder of this important date will give Tucsonans a sense of pride of ownership and community. I have also included the inscription, “MMIV,” the Roman Numerals for 2004, the year in which the Luminaria was designed and constructed. If my design is chosen for the project, I will look forward to working directly with a sponsor in a collaborative manner, as well as, incorporating the solar energy system provided by the project sponsor Tucson Electric Power.