TACOMA-- The test taking place on top of the Tacoma Dome for the next six months is hidden from just about everyone. It's a four-foot by six-foot patch of color bars attached to the roof of the building, to see whether the material and the imaging can weather the Northwest.
More specifically, it's an experiment to determine if the adhesive graphics can be used to place the flower designed by late artist Andy Warhol on the Tacoma Dome.
'He wanted to see the Tacoma Dome as a giant flower,'said city arts administrator Amy McBride,'Ilike that he made it for us. Ilike the vibrancy of the color.'
Presently, Warhol's 30-year-old submissions for a contest to paint the dome are hanging inside the Tacoma Convention andTradeCenter.
'We have the technology now with super graphics to really blow something of this size up toa five-acre scale,'said McBride, referring to the size of the Tacoma Dome.
The color pattern will sit on the dome's roof for six months. Even if the colors and material pass the test, McBride said about $2.2 million will have to be raised to cover the dome. After that, the city council would have to approve the plan.
'I think it's captured the imagination of the public,'said McBride, 'It's the type of project with an international scale.'
