Week 10: Lighting a Legacy

I took the above photo at Newport Beach (sorry it’s out of focus).In the picture is the Ben Carlson memorial, a memorial honoring a lifeguard who’s life was cut short when he went to rescue a beachgoer from the tide and was swept under a wave. When looking at the statue, my eyes turned to the lights illuminating the memorial from below. Obviously, when creating a memorial for a deceased individual and attempting to honor their legacy, how the memorial is lit should be meticulously planned. I believe this lighting was. The way that the lights shine on Ben’s figure create a sort of angelic and glowing aura from before. Lighting the memorial from above or lighting it entirely would likely provide a more flat, less effective look, not to mention it would be much less convenient in terms of physical construction. Also, when I first thought about the lighting choice, the idea of the water that Ben worked in and lived came to my mind. He actually attended my high school and played water polo and was on the swim team, so although I don’t know him, I know he must’ve loved the water and life guarding, so the lighting can also be a sort of homage to that. Overall, I appreciate the lighting on this statue and believe that it helps to reinforce a very important and emotionally heavy subject.