Lighting Observation 4/8/16
Date: 3/30/16
Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Anne Frank House, Netherlands
Objective Description: Delicate pages from a carefully preserved diary lay against a dark backdrop. The light, coming from small instruments on the ceiling and several instruments surround the display case create just enough of a dim light to read what is written. Notices on each side of the display mark just how delicate the pages are and how dim the display must be lit for preservation purposes.
Subjective Description: A dark and narrow room, grave like the circumstances of the second World War. A dark, velvet blue pillow cushioning the red and white plaid diary that would send chills across the world. A room so dark, the soft-yellow dim accompanying the displays all but forced your eyes upon the focus of such a grim past. Dark like that of her fate, but hopeful as the dim light illuminates the pages she so desired for the world to read. There is a silence as the stark atmosphere removes you from the outside world and places you into the secret hiding place, dawned with blackout curtains and the deprivation of natural light. An homage to dark days that still haunt the streets of the Netherlands and the history of the world.