An Inward Look at Schenley

MAIN QUESTIONS

What was your initial visual impression of the space you chose?

My initial impression that it was very calm and serene. The dim lighting added a sense of melancholy and solitude. There was a lack of movement that created a low energy mood.

How did you respond to it physiologically (where the eye moved to) and psychologically (in how you perceived and responded to the visual scene)?

Initially I began by looking at objects that were most illuminated by the lamp post, and then I became wary of the darkness that shrouded the area as a whole, and began to wonder what was lying behind the wall of darkness. 

What did you notice by the end of the experience that you didn't notice initially? Why?

I noticed how the light changes how I view things drastically. In the beginning I was only noticing things and classifying them as objects, such as trees, twigs, grass, stones, etc. At the end of the experience I started to see the subtle differences between the things that I had classified to be the same type of object.  I could see things on trees closer to the light that I couldn't on those that were farther, and vice versa, and this created a different feel for each of the trees. 

NOTES

When you arrive in the space. Think about the words that come to mind when you take in the scene in front of you? Why do they come to mind?

I chose this particular spot in Schenley because while observing this spot you cannot see the asphalt roads and the buildings in the distance. 

My first thought about the space was that it was very serene. I was surprised how still things remained even with the occasional draft that I could feel. 

There was also a sense of solitude produced from the single light that illuminated the middle of the space in a dim yellow-orange light. 

Imagine there are lines drawn between all of objects or things in the space? How are they connected? Are they organized?

I see all of the shadows being tied back to the single source of light. 

The group of newly planted saplings also seem very connected. 

Close your eyes for a minute and open them again. Where do your eyes go to? Why do you think they land in this location?

My eyes immediately get drawn to the leaves that reflect the most light - in this case it was prominently the yellow-looking leaves of the saplings. They are not as tall as the rest of the trees, so their leaves stood out against the background of tree trunks, while the leaves of the older trees just seemed to blend together in the canopy. 

Close your eyes for a minute and open them again. What are the colors that you see best or appeal to you most? Why is that?

In this case, the only prominent color was yellow-orange due to the light, and the appeal depended mostly on how brightly objects reflected that light.

Look around. Is there anything you can’t see or can’t see well?

Anything past the immediate vegetation behind the light is completely dark.

Look around. What are the textures that you see? How do the feel to you?

The textures that stuck out to me most were those of the dry grass and the tree bark. The already yellow grass seemed even more yellow in the light, and made it look very dry and scratchy. 

The bark looked very rough in most places, and it caught my eye because the light caused all the ridges in the bark to become more defined.

Let your mind wander. Where does it go? What do you think about and how is that related to the space around you?

I find myself wondering about the things that I cannot see. What is lying right in front of me in the darkness? How long does does the darkness continue for before there is another light source?