Eroticism and the night: Sensual, rhythmic and risky design

• Main Author: Amanda Williams
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.159.4408; http://research.microsoft.com/~ast/chi/darkness/papers/Williams.pdf

Grendel attacks only after the fires go out; Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness explores darkness in the shadows of the jungle, darkness of skin, the unintelligibility of “uncivilized ” people, the darkness of the human soul when removed from all the familiar social structures that support it. Women are told (as a form of social regulation) not to walk alone after dark, because who know what dodgy characters could be out there? “Dark ” is used synonymously with “evil ” sometimes, as in the phrase “dark magic.” Just as darkness renders the world less visible and less knowable, it renders us less graspable to the world as well. In contrast to films of the noir genre, Christopher Nolan’s 2002 remake of Insomnia reveals the main character’s guilt in the bright light of 24-hour daytime. The metaphor is powerful, yet also more than a metaphor. After seeing the movie, a friend who had spent some months in Antarctica described his own depression and paranoia, brought on by the constant day and lack of daily rhythms of light and dark. Other stories lurk behind the dominant stories of the darkness as fearful and unknown, stories in which the brightness of day can become unbearable, where the dark is comforting, where our own invisibility is freeing. The night impedes vision, but we have other senses. It’s the negative space around the workday, but we can reverse the figure and ground of that daily rhythm. It can be risky, but also provide opportunity. What would we design if, inspired by a positive consideration of the night, we designed for the sensuality of the dark, the