David Distelhorst/FOR THE POST Ohio University 1972 graduate Jenny Holzer sits with her artwork at Gordy Hall. Holzer's table and benches were dedicated Saturday.

Students walking into the entrance of Gordy Hall have been struck with computerized words in a variety of languages, running along an electronic sign mounted to the ceiling.

This sign, known as a light-emitting diode, or LED, and several granite benches are the artwork of world-renowned artist and 1972 Ohio University graduate Jenny Holzer.

Holzer was chosen as the artist for the project in Gordy Hall because the basis of her artwork is language, which is the area of study concentrated in Gordy Hall, said Pam Parker, chairwoman of OU's Percent for Art Committee.

The Percent for Art program, which is administered by the Ohio Arts Council, provides funds for the acquisition, commissioning and installation of works of art for new or renovated public buildings.

Holzer graduated from OU with a degree in fine arts and received a masters degree in fine arts from Rhode Island School of Design. She also received an honorary doctorate of arts in 1994 from OU.

She is an internationally known artist with works on display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bibao, Spain, and the Yvon Lambert Gallery in Paris, France. She is most noted, however, for LED signs.

"The LED became my signature piece of art after having a LED on display in Times Square in New York City," Holzer said. "It's a good way to exhibit texts from many points of view."

The LED in Gordy is a rectangular electronic sign that displays continuous computerized phrases or philosophies. It hangs from the ceiling at the Park Place entrance.

Some of Holzer's Truisms, or philosophies, that can be read on the LED in Gordy are: 'It's a man's fate to outsmart himself;' 'Torture is barbaric;'and 'Revolution begins with changes in the individual.' These Truisms and others also are displayed in foreign languages.

Six prairie-green granite interior benches and one prairie-green exterior table with benches add a contrast to the contemporary LED sign. Holzer constructed the granite benches and table to look like period pieces from decades ago.

Truisms in languages including English, French, Indonesian and Swahili are engraved on the benches and the table, Holzer said.

"Her art is a change in what we normally think of as art," said Professor Emeritus Abner Jonas, a former professor of Holzer's.

When it came to her artwork, Holzer was both an experimental and serious student, he said.

Holzer views the LED sign as a reflection of modern life moving at a quick pace, Jonas said.

He said her work is politically and socially active and will be something to point to the future.

For some students, the LED provides a little philosophy to ponder while they wait for classes to begin. "I like seeing them (the Truisms) in different languages," senior Jacob Rice said.