Lighting Observation #1 – Angler Fish Are No Joke!
1) February 2nd – 3:45 AM – Outside Hauge, Near turnstile
2) Objective Description – I was walking outside of Hague to clear my head and was spooked by a flickering light. It hung on the building adjacent to a tall tree. The ugly orange light bounced off the bare tree. It had a pattern of staying on for 3 seconds then quickly flickering five times.
3) Subjective Description – I do not know what it is about drawing, but it easily stresses me out and I am not very good at it. Nonetheless, when I started to work on the first project Pei Chi assigned I put all my energy into it. I finished my first sketch of what was supposed to be a coffee maker (it looked like a puppy). Next thing I know it is almost four in the morning, but I had to cool down before going to bed. I looked out my window and saw the ugly orange light connected to the building that always shines in my room. It seemed pointless at the time. I grabbed my coat and went outside through the turnstile of the Netherlands. I started to walk alongside the building when I noticed the ugly light near my room. It was flickering, quite obnoxiously. It had a steady rhythm. It was alluring. However, I noticed the bare tree next to the light. The ugly light was reflecting the death off the tree. I was spooked but I could not turn away. There was something about the rhythm of the flickering that would not let me walk away. I was generally frightened (we live in Hempstead and I am outside at four in the morning). I thought to myself, that light is so ugly. Hofstra should replace it with a much calmer colored light. Still, in the back of my mind I was trying to pull away and go back inside. Finally public safety pulled up and asked if I was high. I responded “No, the light is just so ugly”. The public safety officers looked back at me, as if I were high. They told me to go back inside and they wouldn’t write me up. I told them that the light kept flickering. They began to laugh and told me to go inside, go back to bed, and sleep “it” off. They drove off. I looked back at the light and it was no longer flickering. My heart sank and I ran back inside. I looked out my window and the light was still, like it was supposed to be.
After the spooky encounter, I couldn’t help but think of an Angler fish. The light outside kept blinking and attracted me to it, even though the scene looked dangerous. An angler fish does the same thing. It has a light connected to its body that dangles in front of the face. A prey comes along, attracted to the light, and the Angler strikes and eats the fish. I am just glad that I was not swallowed by the tree. The lighting instilled fear in me and made me question if I was on any drugs and I just did not remember taking any. I felt doubt in my memory; maybe the whole situation didn’t even happen, maybe I just imagined it. From that simple light, it scared me, made me doubt myself, and I was even paranoid for a bit. The feelings bottled up inside of me, this being my first release of the situation. I can assure everyone and the two nice public safety officers that I was not on any drugs.