Good Night aims to reevaluate contemporary strategies for the lighting of urban, public spaces. Since the invention of electric street lights in the 19th century, the ambitions of urban lighting have promoted increased brightness and efficiency with little attention of the quality and effect of light itself—a combination greatly contributing to the planetary issue now recognized as light pollution. Meant to resemble a picnic, the installation invites visitors to lay beneath horizontal screens displaying a mediated view of the night sky as if obscured by varying degrees of light pollution. The installation serves as a visualization strategy for comparative analysis between the two screens, each depicting a view of the night sky from cities in the Northeastern United States with varying degrees of regulation placed on their respective public lighting initiatives.

“Good Night” is supported by the Princeton University High Meadows Environmental Institute and the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education.