Week #10 - Lens

I actually stole this picture from someone on Instagram, but I couldn't help it because the lights look so cool! These are christmas lights hanging on a house that have a sheet of ice over them that is acting as a sort of lens for the lights. This is expanding the light and causing them to cast light further than they would be without the ice. I also noticed that all of these colors combined are making a very purple light that is almost read as no-color. It's crazy that you can find examples of lighting like this in every day life. Before this class I would have scrolled past this picture thinking it was pretty, but nothing else. Now I see all the elements of light and am able to explain in short what really makes this scene so special in terms of lighting.

Week 10: Realization and appreciation

This evening as I was driving, I became distracted by the sky reflected in my rear view mirror. The bright light from the sun reflected off my mirror and into my eyes. As I squinted from the light of the setting sun, I thought about the complexities of light and color in the natural world. Ahead of me was the eastern sky, which was blue with painted strokes of purple. As I looked back, the amber from the sun was concentrated at the center and spread across the horizon, diffusing upwards into lavendar as it hit the clouds and mixed in the sky. It was hard to believe that these two sides of the sky were both a part of the same world. I paused on a side street to snap this photo, which captured the dark silhouettes of the whispering trees. After this encounter, I wondered whether it was noteworthy to capture yet another sunset that so many of us have used for this blog. I decided that this reflection and realization was noteworthy because although I have thought about the setting sun before, the overall experience of this class has transformed my awareness of the light that exists around me. I have come to realize that even though a sunset occurs every evening, the colors and emotions it creates are different each time. I observe and notice light so much more, and I have learned to appreciate the different emotions and stories that light can evoke, even in something as simple as a familiar sunset.

Week 10: Show Week

My friend, who is also into photography took this photo between shows during New Slate. This hall has florescent lighting, which I initially thought would make my skin tone look harsh, and not provide any sort of definition or shadowing to my body. Though my friend's camera may have helped, this photo was beautifully taken. I feel that the shadowing (perhaps due to the fact that this hall gets no sunlight at all, and the florescent bulbs seem warmer) perfectly captures my figure. I feel that the background really adds texture to my figure and the position that I am posed in. The contrast between the cool and textured background against the warmth of the light absorbed (?) by skin captures my eye. We have discussed this many times in class- the idea of not being afraid to play with opposites: contrasting colors and a variety of brushstrokes. I feel that this concept is interesting and can provide a lot of dynamic to the piece, depending on the context and what one is attempting to evoke.

On another note, thank you very much Lonnie for the opportunity to take this class- I feel that I have developed a new and more insightful perspective in design, which I also feel I can apply to my choreographic aspirations. I am excited to move forward in my lighting aspirations with many of the concepts that we have discussed in class!

Week 10: Thank You Lonnie!

This picture was taken at Veggie Grill on Saturday evening, in between the matinee and evening performances of New Slate. All week I had been analyzing the lighting of my work in the show, seeking perfection in the intensities, colors, and timing of the cues (which was achieved!). As I sat down waiting for the food to be brought to my table, I was incredibly irked at the fact that the row of lights hanging above me were not perfect! Two of the bulbs had gone out and it was driving me crazy. I laughed to myself because had this been ten weeks ago, I probably would not have noticed or cared that the lighting at Veggie Grill was not perfect. Strangely enough, I'm glad that these lights bothered me so much. This tells me that this course has made a big impact on me and the way I see things. During this course I've added a level to my artistry, and I hope to continue to develop my eye for lighting dance, and stay observant to the lighting of the world around me.

Week 10 Inner Pull

The last post is a shot from my work that Sarah Resch lit. This particular moment filled me with soooooo many emotions. I had no idea how this piece was going to be lit. This piece is the biggest piece I've choreographed to date. I had no idea if any of it was going to work, but it did. i loved the way the work turned out and the way the lighting turned out. however this moment was the pinnacle for me. the past, present and future all in front, a stranded dancer in the midst of struggle in a sea of dancers in the back and the long stream of heavenly light coming at him from the up left diagonal was .....everything! it encapsulated my personal feeling about the work and was totally unexpected.
This particular pic doesn't show the stream of light that hit me, but it was there in the performances.

Week 10 Strangers in the Night: Part 2

As I go to school everyday, I often forget that UCI is built around a canyon side that is filled with nature. This fashionable bird is giving me a side profile that is beautiful to watch. The background sky provides a blue wash with dark contrasts of shadows and light from the homes and trees. The lighting is able to vividly capture the soft lines of the bird. Being positioned lower than where the bird stands, this upward lighting gives me a haunting, shadowy feeling of anticipation. Will the bird go into the light or retreat into the darkness?

Week 10- My Jelly Friend

Every day this little guy appears on my wall for a couple hours.  The first time I saw him, I was very confused because I have never seen anything shaped in this small circular way with a every color of the rainbow in it, besides maybe a jelly fish.  After frantically searching for the source of this color, I realized that it was coming from the peephole in my apartment door.  The light hits the peephole and is reflected through the prism that is the small circular glass window in the door, and the result is my little jelly friend.  He left for the day, but he'll be back tomorrow.

Week 10: Anthropologie: Nailed It.

                              Anthropologie: Nailed It

Is there an Emmy for branding and marketing?  If so, it ought to go to Anthropologie, a retailer that killed it with their holiday lighting decor.  Here are the window displays:


To the left, petite drops of light mimic pearls on a necklace strand: intelligent, refined with delicate radiance, feminine and chic.  To the right, understated strands of holiday lights appear as one of several hand-crafted strands.  Somewhat camouflaged as one of several simple materials, the lights gently embellish detailed, handmade garland.  Clearly the lighting decor speaks to the store's appeal to the unique and aspirational consumer, one who values creativity and individual expression.

Notable to the lighting design seen from the window displays was the strategic placement of each fixture.  Lights that subtlety imply chic glamor were placed by the dresses and fur coats (top photo).  Dimmer lights imbedded within a hanged arrangement, uniquely crafted from ropes and assortments of beads adorn the front leading out to a different section of the store (bottom photo), where neutral tones, casual clothes and heavy knit sweaters are displayed.

Attention to detail, strategic use of subtly, and expression of the unique and individual person are notable in the light fixtures used in Anthropolgie's holiday window displays.  Allure through lighting and atmosphere draw consumers to enter the store to seek not only Anthropologie's goods, but the kind of lifestyle their visual aesthetic implies: one that emphasizes creativity and intelligence, homemade meals, books, travel and individuality, the home, the professional life AND play, valuing adventure and originality in all aspects of life.

A+ for Anthropologie for lighting the front end of their store in a way that appeals to their target market, interweaving nostalgia, lifestyle and values into the consumer experience.

Week 9 - Illuminating Water

                                   Illuminating Water

Anyone else want a fountain like this is their backyard someday?  #GOALS.  Another feature of Newport Beach's Fashion Island, on the opposite side of the plaza next to Cafe R & D is a hand-carved fountain with color- changing illuminated water.



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Inspired by Rome's Fountain of the Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona, this fountain is beautifully lit with pink and purple hues, as well as white light to enhance the hand-sculpted fountain structure.

Mental/emotional responses to standing in the presence of this fountain and its changing light were that of mystery, magical wonder, creativity.  Invocation of dreams could occur beside this muse-like structure.  Romantic, fantasy-like emotional responses were likely to have been invoked in me, the viewer, not only because of the fountain's color palate - pink and purple light - but also because of the changes that occur within the color and water's partnership.  The fountain appeared alive, dancing, evolving, and breathing like the human spirit.

Synergy between light and water is often beautiful, not lacking in part because of the diversity in design possibilities- especially with LED lights that change color beneath the water's surface.  Light can be seen ON water and reflected FROM water.  Water can change shape and [depending on budget] lights can change color.

Referring to the fountain above, light changes occurring beneath the water's surface serve as part of a creative, coherent theme in the fountain's design, and illuminate (no pun intended) the fact that light can help bring to life different artistic mediums, as though the the material world itself inhales and exhales alongside the viewer, making the artistic expression reflexive, participatory; and in this case, awe-inspiring.

Week 8 - Christmas Contrast

                                ⥣ Christmas Contrast ⥣

I suppose the one benefit to royally mistaking the blog assignment stop date #EPIC #FAIL is that lights have emerged as a part of holiday decor in homes, shopping malls and outdoor plazas.

Christmas trees and their potential variance in lighting styles inspired this post.  I thought about why there seems to be a childish, fun, playful and exuberant feel to Christmas trees that use multicolor lights, such as the one in the Simi Valley dance studio (where I teach) pictured below.

 

And, conversely, why Christmas trees with only white lights seem to have an air of sophistication and elegance, such as the giant Christmas tree in the center of Fashion Island shopping center; or if you rather, the smaller Christmas trees placed in Fashion Island's shop windows:



Though I've been cognizant of the " 'white' (technically amber or blue) light = sophistication / multicolor light = playful" phenomenon, I've never been overly cognizant of WHY this may be the case until this year's lighting class, introducing color theory in relation to light and light's power with the possible uses of color, brush stroke, position, or intensity to create a "world": an overall aura, emotion, physical environment or mental state.

Monochromatic color seen in the latter Christmas tree photos with 'white' (amber/light blue) light helps the mind to relax and the eye to focus on the object it is illuminating primarily - namely, the Christmas tree.  It is more calm and focused, reflecting a beauty that is centered with a graceful kind of distinction and gentility.  Multicolored expressions seen in the former Christmas tree photo is more of a spectacle: eye-entertaining, fun, even distracting (in my view) from the object itself with its own draw of attention, as the eye attempts to "take-in" each hue.

While many of my friends would guess my own Christmas tree to be much like the former based on my [spunky] personality, I actually much prefer monochromatic color schemes.  ENOUGH wildness going on upstairs in my brain, I much prefer to dwell in environments that are opposite to my internal world.  Calm, very little color, even minimalist with decor.  Below are photos of my grad-school apartment and my own Christmas tree
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Cheers to balancing the brain with monochromatic light and color!