Two Stories about Lights
I
Something I never thought about before.
Since I came to the states, I had never lived in a big city like this, so the view from the window of my apartment is either quite empty like in Boulder, or just forest or woods like in Great Barrington. Last year when I had a small stay-cation in Chicago, the view is blocked by the L station. This time, the place I’m currently staying at is on the fourth floor of an apartment building in Chicago. Outside my window, there’s another larger apartment building. I didn’t count, but it looks like it has 20 more floors. When the night falls, the lights are turned on, and the windows become white or yellow squares, quite like mosaic.
When I got up in the middle of the night and went to bathroom, that building became a dark and cold block again, without any lights. Ah, people living there must be sleeping, I thought. This thought gave me a feeling that, although we live in different homes, experience our different stories and explore different paths, when it’s night, we all just go to bed, like we are actually living together, in this city. It’s quite interesting, isn’t it? It mostly sounds like we are experiencing a paradox. I guess that’s exactly what Azuki Nana wrote in the song 静寂のconcerto:
バスが来る 待合人
共に暮らしがあるような
やさしい時間
流れる日々がこの地球にある
We are so far away and so different from each other, yet we listen to the calling of the night and sneak into dreams together.
II
Another story about lights, more or less.
Today I went to the “Immersive van Gogh“ exhibition. I actually bought the ticket months ago, and it costs me 40 bucks. I wanted to return the ticket many times, but thought it might worth it. At least some nice pictures. So this morning I caught the bus and went to the exhibition.
The show is basically in a huge empty space, with van Gogh’s paintings projected on the wall by the projectors. The paintings are animated, and there’s also classical music as the background. The show lasts probably 20 or 25 minutes, and it just kept playing the same video. You’d feel like you’re actually in his painting, because the entire wall and floor are projected.
The experience itself is new to me, so I’m happy to try it. The show itself is also nice and very innovative. What I don’t like is the music — just too loud. Before I went I thought I could listen to some nice music from my phone, and try to feel and integrate the vibe brought by the songs and the paintings together. Reality is, even though the music played is mostly classical music, I found it too loud and noisy. No wonder before I went in the staff told me the music is loud and there’ll be earplugs available. But I guess if there’s no music at all, the show would look a little bit weird.
I’ve been just staying in my neighborhood for too long. Gym, grocery store, and home. When I first got off the bus in downtown, I was so excited, even if it’s cloudy today.
