"Dark Sky" 2009, oil and gold leaf on panel, 24" x 48"
Brooklyn is one tough place to see the night sky from.
I am fortunate that I spent much of my childhood beneath an unpolluted night sky in rural Virginia. It is my memory of that overwhelming field of glowing stars that inspires paintings like Dark Sky (above) that I make here in my Brooklyn studio.
It’s a personal dream of mine that someday we might be able to see a few more stars in our city skies, and just maybe access the giddy awe I remember feeling as a child. How spectacular would it be to see a fully visible night sky merging with the city skyline? The closest I have come to seeing this was during the blackout here in New York City in 2003. But another possibilty exists– one where city lighting is managed to reduce pollution without turning out all the lights. We can achieve city nightscapes that allow celestial and earthbound lighting to coexist! The earth-side lights would be enough for safety but shielded to limit glare and planned so that excess light does go where it is not needed. Energy would be saved. We might all sleep a little more soundly. And the visual dream that is always present above all of us could begin to reappear.
Good lights=dark skies
One organization that shares this vision is The International Dark Sky Association. The IDA seeks to raise awareness about the advantages we can gain from intelligent lighting. The IDA website is loaded with information on how to design or purchase better light fixtures (like the one in the photo on the right), as well as information for educators and all sorts of ways to become personally involved in the cause. You can always donate! My favorite sections are this page of links to satellite photos of Earth at night and this fantastic guide to growing your own local dark-sky aware environment.
Next time you step outside at night, look up. How many stars can you see from where you live?
2 Comments
How fortunate of me to find you! I had artist of the week on my google page…and you were this week…last year! Ha. So, now here I am seeing your beautiful painting(s) and calling to mind this very discussion that I had with my brother Charlie as he and I discussed this while lying on our backs in Lexington, Ky looking at our dwindling night sky (I remembered more stars too!) and trying to share this with my daughter Maureen (4.5). He had mentioned possibly this very organization IDA. So now, I’m reminded of it. And coincidentally “turned on” (really sorry about the pun) to a new artist. Your paintings are wonderful. Per the bio-essay, they remind me of things I’ve always wanted to do in my own work…but probably lack skills and confidence to achieve. The patterns that you find in nature are infinitely more interesting and beautiful. I could stare at the web of trees outside my office window…well for 8 hrs a day. Thanks so much, for your great work. I hope that you get your wish…I’d like to see more stars too!
Sincerely, Ruth Loiacano
Thank you for your comment, Ruth.
There is a great way to participate in dark sky awareness this very weekend. It is called “Earth Hour,” and is an international project to turn off unnecessary lights for one hour starting at 8:30 PM local time on March 27th, 2010. I am going to participate, maybe you would want to as well?
The Earth hour website has all the details.