A Twilight Score for the New Year

Dear iLAND Community,

As we approach the transition to winter and the period of light dwindles, we invite you to participate in this score to reflect with us on the ways in which light, movement, and transition shape our perception.

Civil twilight begins when the sun dips below the horizon and lasts until the sun reaches six degrees below the horizon. In New York, through the end of December, civil twilight will generally occur between 4:30 and 5:00pm. If you don’t live in NYC, you can find the times for sunset HERE.

Find yourself outside at or around sunset. Choose a point on the horizon and rest your gaze there. Gradually begin to lift the gaze up through the sky until it reaches the center of the sky/zenith. Observe the quality, color and texture of light as you move your eye from the horizon to the zenith. 

Once your eye reaches the center of the sky return to the horizon following a  different angle so that your gaze arrives at a different point on the horizon. Repeat moving the gaze from different points on the horizon to the zenith and back to the horizon six times. 

Take several minutes to observe the quality of light on the objects around you e.g. your arm, a building, a tree, follow light into darkness.

In response to the experience of the changing light do the following actions sequentially as the darkness approaches: move for six minutes, draw six lines, write six lines, and take six photos or videos before darkness arrives.

Share your text, images, and drawings with iLAND at projects@ilandart.org. To see the responses of other community members, visit our dedicated page.

In lightness,

iLAND Board of Directors and Staff
Barbara Bryan, Kate Cahill, Katy Dammers, Carolyn Hall, Julia Handschuh, Megan Kendzior, Elliott Maltby, Jennifer Monson, John Monson, Jason Munshi-South, Meredith Ramirez Talusan, Kathleen Telfer and Or Zubalsky