Stillness and Light: The Silent Eloquence of Shaker Architecture

STILLNESS&LIGHT

TheSilentEloquenceofShakerArchitecture

HenryPlummer

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Stillnessandlight:thesilenteloquenceofShakerarchitecture/HenryPlummer.

p.cm.Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.

ISBN978-0-253-35362-7(cloth:alk.paper)1.Shakerarchitecture.2.Lightinarchitecture.I.Title.NA710.P592009720.88'2898—dc22

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12345141312111009

TOTHEMEMORYOF

MinorWhiteTEACHERANDFRIEND

ForPattyWHOMAKESITPOSSIBLETODREAM

GodisaFountainofperfectlight.

—MotherAnnLee

Thelightwhichisestablishedintheheavensorinvisibleworld,iscloselyconnectedwiththelightwhichisestablishedonearth;

andtheywhowalkinthelightwhichismanifestonearth,arecompassedaboutbythosewhowalk

inthesamelight,althoughintheinvisibleworld.

—ShakermediumPaulinaBates,1849

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION:ShakerLight~BuildingaStateofGrace

1SIMPLICITY~PRISTINELIGHT

monotonemasspurewhitecavityframedwhitenessbetweenwood&plasterwoodencavern

2ORDER~FOCUSEDLIGHT

mesmerizingwindowincantationconcentrictonalitiesdoublehelixtwinskylightsflyingstaircasetieredskylights

3LUMINOSITY~INNERLIGHT

maximumfenestrationinteriorshutterswhitekentuckylimestonewhite-paintedstoneworkwhiteonwhiteyellowlightlustrouswoodclaspedlightatticdormercupola

4EQUALITY~SHAREDLIGHT

transomwindowinteriorwindowdoublewindowenfiladeofopeningslatticeoflight

5TIME~CYCLICLIGHT

shadowplayonlimestonespectralcolorstreeshadowssplashesofsuncoexistingtimestatesgoldencastrevolvinglight&colorcrossfireofsunIcrossfireofsunIIlightorchestration

Bibliography

TPreface

o try to come to grips with a subject as elusive yet marvelous as thetreatment of daylight in Shaker architecture, I have drawn upon two

complementary media—writing and photography. Words examine ideas andthoughts, observations and analyses, about Shaker light, while images presentthe phenomena themselves, as personally encountered on repeated visits toShakersites.Itiswiththisinmindthatthephotographsinthisbookareintendednotastextualillustrations,butrathertoformtheirownmodeofinquiry,onethattries to carefully examine a metaphysical aspect of architecture whosesignificancelies,toalargeextent,beyondthedomainofwords.OfcourseithasbeenimpossibletophotographShakerarchitectureasaliving

culture, for the inhabitants have died out in all but one remaining, yetextraordinaryvillageatSabbathdayLake,Maine.Nevertheless,theShakersstillspeakthroughthespacestheymade,andthroughthelightthatcontinuestogracetheirbuildings.TherestoredShakervillagessurvivingtodaynolongerrepresentpreciselyhowspacesappearedwhentheircommunitieswereactive,but,asmysubjectisneitherthematerialculturenordailylivesofShakers,theseexquisiteshells—stillpossessing that“indescribableairofpurity”and“shiningwith thebrilliancyofreflectedlight”thatwereobservedinthemtwocenturiesago—offeridealsettingsinwhichtoexplorethequalityandplayofnaturallightasitaltersthelookofShakerspace.

F

Acknowledgments

rom the outset I would like to thank Linda Oblack, editor at IndianaUniversityPress,whorespondedtomyinitialinquirywithgreatenthusiasm

andsupport,andhascontinuedtoprovideenormoushelpintheconceptionanddevelopmentofthisbook.MythanksalsotoMikiBirdforhercarefuleditingofthe text, and to Pamela Rude for a book design wonderfully attuned to thesubjectmatter.For their gracious assistance in making this book possible, especially the

prolongedphotographythatwasundertakenovervariousseasonsduringthepasttwentyyears,butconcentratedprimarilybetween2004and2008,Iwouldliketothank:ShakerVillageatPleasantHill (Kentucky),ShakertownatSouthUnion(Kentucky), Shaker Heritage Society at Watervliet (New York), the DarrowSchool (formerly Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village, New York), Hancock ShakerVillage (Massachusetts),CanterburyShakerVillage (NewHampshire),EnfieldShaker Museum (New Hampshire), and the United Shaker Society atSabbathday Lake (Maine). For their personal assistance, and at timesconsultation or accompaniment, on numerous visits, I want to thank: LarrieCurry,PhilipMcIntosh,andGeorgieRiddellatPleasantHill;TommyHinesatSouthUnion; StarlynD'Angelo atWatervliet; ChristianGoodwillie andLauraWolf at Hancock; Nancy Wolf at the Darrow School; Funi Burdick, TomJohnson, and Elizabeth Pappas at Canterbury; Arthur Gagnon at Enfield; andSisterFrancis,BrotherArnold,andLeonardBrooksatSabbathdayLake.Severalindividuals were indispensable in making it possible to witness the magic ofShaker lightat twilithours—LeonardBrooks,ChristianGoodwillie,andPhilipMcIntosh—who cheerfully opened buildings up at the extreme hours of dawnanddusk,often in thedark, andpatiently sat throughhoursofphotography indimlight.Several research awards contributed immeasurably to this project, including

grants fromtheCampusResearchBoard,and theCollegeofFineandAppliedArts,attheUniversityofIllinois.Forthese,IwouldliketothankDavidChasco,DirectoroftheSchoolofArchitecture,andRobertGraves,DeanoftheCollegeofFineandAppliedArts.Forhisgiftofphotography,andinsightintothehumanspirit,Iowealifelong

debtofgratitudetoMinorWhite,fromwhomIfirstlearnedtoseemyselfaswellasanother,moreevocativerealitythroughthelensofacamera.

AboveallIthankmywife,Patty,companionandpartneronallmyjourneystoShaker sites, fromKentucky toMaine,who filled these travelswith love andgood spirits, and willingly shared her always remarkable insights andperceptions—withoutherthisbookwouldneverhavebeen.

INTRODUCTIONSHAKERLIGHT~BUILDINGASTATEOFGRACE

The magnificent craftsmanship of the Shakers, who for two centuries wereAmerica'smostsuccessfulutopiansociety,gavevisibleformtoafirmbeliefthatusefulnessandholinessareoneandthesame.Therewasnoseparationbetweenpracticalandsacredvalues in thisevangelicalsect,whichreacheditsheight in1840with nearly six thousandmembers in eighteen communities, set in ruraland isolated locationsfromMaine toKentucky.1Perhaps thepurestexpressionof their unique way of living, in which down-to-earth common sense ispermeated with rigorous faith, is the exquisite functional beauty of theirarchitecture.Atwofoldstrivingforperfection,epitomizedintheShakermaxim,“putyourhandstoworkandyourheartstoGod,”wasmanifestedineverythingthey built—from a door to a window, a stair to a railing, a wall to a roof.Underlying this double vision was a desire to live in two different worlds—spiritualandnatural—atthesametime,andwithequalintensity,forasShakersbelieved,“heavenandeartharethreadsofoneloom.”2Beyond its solid outer form, as simple and handsome as it is, Shaker

architecturedisplaysanother,moreelusivedimensionwhereutilityandtheologymerge—a pragmatic, yet also sublime treatment of natural light. AlthoughShakers themselves were reticent about explaining this preoccupation, theirbuildingsexhibitaloveandcareformanaginglightthatisuniqueinAmericanarchitecture.3Thismasteryrangedfrommaximizingthepenetrationofdaylightintobuildings, toetherealeffectsofatmosphereconducive to the spiritual life,suggestingarchitecturalconcernsthatgowellbeyondthephysicalworld.While good natural lighting was beneficial for everyday tasks, such as

workingandcleaning, theother,undoubtedlymoreprofound sourceofShakerpassion for natural light was religious. Despite a contemporary bias towardemphasizingthematerialcultureandsocialmoresofShakers,itmustbekeptinmind that Shaker ambitionswere, at their core, divine rather thanmaterial orsocial.4Spirit rather thanmatterwas of the essence. The appealing images ofShaker forms that meet our rational eyes today—superbly crafted boxes andchairs, walls and cabinets, floors and stairs—belie a far deeper purpose, andspiritual intent,which has nothing to dowithmaterial aesthetics or adoration.Modeling theirways after Christ, Shakerswere engaged, rather, in a constant

attempt to cast off possessions andbecome freeofobjects, stripping away theartificialwrappingsofworldlyculture,inordertogetbacktoanultimatestateofbeing.Shaker efforts to spiritualizematter, and consequently their attitudes toward

light,were strongly influenced bymillennialist beliefs.Calling themselves theUnitedSocietyofBelieversinChrist'sSecondAppearing,theywereconvincedthatChristhadcomeagain,initiallyinthepersonoffounderAnnLee,andlaterinallthosewithinwhomthe“ChristSpiritawakens.”5Sincethemillenniumhadalreadyarrived,Shakersfeltimpelledtoconsecrateeverythingtheytouchedandshapedbytheirlabors,withtheultimateaimofestablishing“aheavenhereonearth”—reiterating the biblical vision of “a new heaven and a new earth.” Toaccomplish this task, Shakers organized their society into a new kind ofAmericanmonasticism.Lifewasdevotedtotransformingtheearthintoparadise,requiring that every act be undertaken with transcendental intent, so as to“redeem”theworld,makeitnew,andrestoreittoGod.Indoingso,theShakerimage of the heavenly sphere, as described in their own religious texts andjournals, diaries and poems, but especially “spirit drawings” that envisionparadise,imitatedthetraditionalnotionofarealmofspacefilledwithlight—aplaceaglowateverypoint,and,asportrayedinthebookofRevelation,quotedoften by Shakers, emitting a “radiance like a most rare jewel.”6 This biblicalpictureofheaven, interpreted inan1845spiritdrawingas“mansionsof light”that are “spotless” and “bright,” was prophetic, for it became embodied invirtuallyeveryworkofShakerarchitecture.7Beyond identifying light with the place where God dwells, Shakers more

generallyequatedlightwithastateofholiness,andspiritualperfection.WithintheBible,whichwas strictly interpretedbyShakers, this emblem ranges fromdivine glory to the shining faces and bodies of saints, and culminates in theGospelof John,whichproclaims that“God is light”and,ashis son,Christ, is“thelightoftheworld,”radiatingalightthatshinesintodarkness.8Withsimilarlanguage Shakers announced in theirManifesto: “there is nothing in God butwhatislight,”andFatherJamesWhittaker,whoassumedthemantleofShakerauthorityafterMotherAnn'sdeathin1784,describedChristwiththewords:“OIlovehim!…Hisbrightness,Hisbeautyissogreat…howtranscendentbrightitis.”9 The nineteenth-century words of Shaker elder Frederick Evans have asimilar ring, relatingChrist's transfiguration to the Shakers' own destiny: “theShaker order is the source and medium of spiritual religious light to theworld.”10Thecorrelationbetweendivine lightandvisible light issummedupwellby

thehistorianofreligionMirceaEliade,writinginTheTwoandtheOnethat“ifoneis‘illumined'bybaptism;iftheHolyGhostisvisualizedasamanifestationoffire; if theLightof theTransfigurationperceivedby theApostlesonMountTaborrepresents thevisibleformofChrist'sdivinity, thentheperfectChristianmysticallifeshouldlogicallyrevealitselfbyluminousphenomena.”11Embodiedinthisviewisanancientandmysticalexperienceoflightthathaslesstodowiththeaestheticsofsensoryimpressions,andmoretodowithasplendorofthingsthatreflects,forbelievers,theirnearnesstoGod.Thisanalogywasfundamentaltothetwelfth-centuryGothicinnovationsofAbbotSugeratSaint-Denis,andtotheologian and philosopher Robert Grosseteste, who expounded on themetaphysicsof light inhis thirteenth-century treatiseDeLuce (On Light). Forthesemedievalthinkers,corporeallightwasconsideredaspiritualsubstance,or“embodied spirit,” and of all things on earth, believed to be the most directmanifestation of God, the reality most similar to divine light, and the mostseeablelinkbetweenheavenandearth.For over two millennia the evolution of Christian architecture— from

Byzantine mosaics and Gothic stained glass, to the clear white light ofeighteenth-centuryPuritanchurchesbuilt inNewEngland—wasbasedon thisfundamental idea,ofconstructingonearthagleaming imageof thedivineandheavenly sphere.12 But Shakers brought a revolutionary and largely intuitiveapproach to shaping light as a spiritual reality, one that stressed directexperience, and was thereby less burdened by religious doctrine. Shakersavoidedeveryhintoficonographyorsymbol,decorationorornament,frescoorstained glass, altar or crucifix, and thereby freed light entirely of its previousreligious dogma. Shaker buildings were sanctified, instead, by their sheermetaphysicalpresence,andtheserenityofluminousroomsthatwereemptyandpure.This approach combined a feeling for the holywith the commonality ofvernacular architecture—a unique conception of heaven on earth, which wasevidently based on the spiritualization of everyday things, rather than thetraditional notion of a supernatural world in opposition to daily life. In thisharmonious state, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and a hallowedpresence canbe discovered in every inconsequential object, there is no longeranyneedforachurch.OnvisitingMt.LebanonShakerVillagein1867,Englisheditor William Hepworth Dixon had this very impression, noting: “Everybuilding,whateverbeitsuse,hassomethingoftheairofachapel.”13ForemostamongthewaysShakerbuildersgaveasacramentalroletonatural

lightwasbywashingitsraysoverutterlyplainandsimpleforms,tocreateanairofasceticism.Unadornedwallswithmodestdetailscouldemulatethehumility

ofChrist,without resort to literal images.This carefully conceived emptiness,wherespiritreplacesmatter,drawsaswellonamoreuniversalmeansofevokingthesacred inarchitecture.Where“nothingness”and“thevoid itself”aremadepalpable,andappearasessentialfeaturesofabuilding,writesRudolfOttoinhisseminalbookTheIdeaoftheHoly,theydo“awaywithevery‘this’and‘here’,inorderthatthe‘whollyother’maybecomeactual…[and]express‘theholy’.”14The refined poverty of Shaker architecture, whose volumes are reduced to

theirbareessence,allowsqualities independentof thematerialworldtorise toawareness. The uniform texture of a humblewall, built from a single kind ofbrickorstone,orcoatedwithonecolorofpaint,producesamonolithicvolumewhosecohesiveplayoflightandshadecanenvelopthewholeinadeepsenseofpeace.Interiorswererenderedsomewhatlessstark,andfarmoreresponsivetoincident light. Within pared-down rooms, a restrained palette of naturalmaterials, limited generally to smooth woodwork and white plaster, permitsexceptionally subtle tonalitiesof light to strengthen in appearance.Each spaceandallof itspartsbecomebathed in aunified, somewhat ethereal atmospherethat envelops objects, andmakes them participants in an overall harmony—atotalimpressiontheeyecangraspatasingleglance.WithinthesimplificationprocessemployedbyShakers,itwasthecolorwhite

—freshanduntainted,virtually immaterialized—whichwasmost treasured forits spiritual perfection. “Pure white,” wrote nineteenth-century Elder CalvinGreen, “is taken to represent the light and highest glory of heavenly objects,becausewhite is a certainmixture of the glory of all colors. Hence heavenlybeings are represented so frequently as arrayed in ‘garments clean andwhite,’andcloudsofbrightnessareputtorepresentthegloryofGod.”15ThusShakerstypicallyclothedtheirmeetinghouse,themostsacredspotinthevillage,withanouter coat of gleaming white paint, and went on to spread this “heavenlygarment”aroundmostoftheroomswheretheyworkedandlived,fromdwellingtoworkshop,fromlaundrytoinfirmary,frombathhousetoouthouse.Afascinationwithvacantwallsbathedinlightstems,inpart,fromtraditional

associationsofphysicalcleanlinesswithspiritualpurity,and,forShakers,withlackofsin.“Cleanyour roomwell,”MotherAnn is reputed tohavesaid,“forgoodspiritswillnotlivewherethereisdirt.Thereisnodirtinheaven.”Puttinginto practice this age-old notion, that cleanliness is next to godliness, Shakerbuildersgaveeverymaterialaflawlessfinish,andwroughtthemintoformsthatavoided dust and dirt, and could be easily swept and polished daily. Suchimmaculatevolumes,physicallyemptyyetmetaphysicallyfull,producefarmorethan negation, however, whether for motives of tidiness or virtue, since they

foster something rare in architecture—a feeling of serenity, ideally suited to alifebaseduponharmonyandgrace.16Aradical stripping awayof expressivemeans reflects themonastic ethosof

Shakers,andvisuallymirrorstheircelibacyandabstinence,nottomentiontheirsearch for a haven removed from the bustle of the outer world. Whileauthentically American in its unaffected simplicity and practicality, theminimalismofShakerarchitecturehasmanysimilaritieswithtraditionalmodelsofmonasticconstruction,notably thebare stoneabbeysbuiltbyCistercians inmedieval Europe, and Zen temples of unadornedwood in Japan. These silentworksaredistinguishedbychasteformsinwhichlightandshadowbecometheprimary essence of the architecture.Using few elements,much repetition, andemptyplanestopurifyspaceofdisorderandexcess,theShakers,perhapslargelyunawareoftheirforerunners,wereabletocreateanequallyelementalausterity,where a single material struck by light can create a startling, unforgettablebeauty.Although the silence of Shaker architecture refers to visual rather than

acoustic properties, it reflects a close relation between the senses of sight andsound.ItistruethateverydaylifeinaShakervillagehummedwithactivity,andSundays were times of dance and song. During intervals between work andworship, however, communitymemberswere extremely tranquil inmovementand behavior, exercised through soft speech,walking gently, and opening andclosingdoorswithcare.TheShakerworldisevenmorestillatavisuallevel,itsevery form—from floor to ceiling, building to landscape—kept astonishinglyblank,restrained,anduncluttered.Thismutenessofthingsoffersmildscenestothe human eye, and they are further hushed by soft gradations of light intoshadow. “A happy quiet reigns around,” wrote one nineteenth-century visitor,“eveninwhatisseenoftheeyeandheardoftheear,MountLebanonstrikesyouasaplacewhereitisalwaysSunday.”17A different kind of tranquility is created by the unremitting focus of light

sources within space. An orderly pattern of illumination helped to organizeShaker rooms, along with human behavior inside them, while reducingperceptual tensions in space, and imitating the perfect order that Shakersconsideredpart of heaven.Eachwindow is visuallyweighted, and fastened inplace,bytheoutlineofacontrastingframe.Thiscentripetalforcewasexpandedin scope by positioningwindows to stabilize the space they illumine, exertingvisual pressure notmerely by geometry but also by a perceptual salience andcommanding distribution of light.Often a small roomwill be dominated by asinglewindow,whichbecomesapowerfulcenterofattention,ascaptivatingas

the primal image of a fire at night or a lamp in thewindow, able to grip thehumaneyelikeavisualmagnet.18Inlargerroomswindowsaregroupedtoemita concerted and balanced light, maintaining order with a steadying cluster ofradiant spots. The ability of such nodal points to catch a wandering eye, andbringittofocus,isnotunlikethatofatraditionalreligiousdiptychortriptych,or,moregenerally,amandalawhosereligiousaimistodrawthebeholderintoamore pensive state, and assist the inward concentration of prayer. I am notsuggestingthatShakersgazeduponwindowsinsuchamanner,butthat,beyondcreating visual equilibrium, the concentrated light has a subtle and largelyunconscious effect of keeping eye and mind calm, and perpetually centered,ratherthandispersedordistracted.Thepowerofbalancedlightingtosettlespace,andfurnishanatmosphereof

repose,reachedanapogeeintheShakermeetinghouse.Theentiremeetingroomissurroundedbyaclosealternationofwindowandwall,eliminatingdirectionalforces, and shedding an even light to every corner. Equally calming is ameasuredflowofon-and-offtones,assoothingtotheeyeasashimmeroflightuponwater, or a flicker of leaves in a tree. Optical rhythms, initially derivedfrom repeating patterns of window and wall, sun and shade, continue intooscillations ofwhite plaster and bluewoodwork. This austeritywith somanyvisualechoescreatesakindofmysticalemptiness.TheeffectisanalogoustoaChristianplainsong,orGregorian chant,whose resonating toneshelp apersonescape ordinary consciousness, and enter into a contemplative, eventranscendentalstateofmind.19Perceptualforcesturnlinear,andpolyrhythmic,inthecentralhallsofShaker

dwellings.Windowsgrouped inendwalls lureandguide themovingeye, likebeacons. Enhancing this longitudinal flow is an identical collection of lightsources flanking the halls at either side. This cadenced and faintly basilicanorder derives from the bilateral symmetry of Shaker architecture, and itsunderlying expression of gender separation and equality.While not touching,brethren and sisters occupied and moved through facing halves of dwellinghouses,eachamirror imageof theother.Disposedaroundthecentralaxis isaseriesofmatchingtones,producedbytwinformsofwindowandvault,doorwayandcorridor,stairandbanister.Thepreciselybalancedlightandshadeintheseorderly rows acts to visually nudge and propel, but also to strictly regulate,humanprocession,andguide italonga“straightandnarrowpath.”Takenasawhole,theritualizedchoreographyofaShakerhallwayembodiestheconceptofaspiritualjourney,involvingaseriesofpassageritesthataremarkedbyandleadtowardthelight,sothateventhemosthabitualwalkthroughadwellingmaybe

experienced as a kind of pilgrimage. This is particularly true in Church andCenter Family dwellings, their axes often pointed like arrows to the villagemeetinghouse—whose still point of lightwas the spiritual center for an entirecommunity.Intersecting the equipoiseof horizontal axes, and rooting them inplace, are

theverticalaxesofdoublestaircases,whoseprocessionalroutesriseinaseriesof zigzag flights from basement to attic. Where these stairs culminate inskylights,astheydosomagnificentlyatPleasantHillandHancock,CanterburyandEnfield, their axes not only gather space around twin luminous cores, butalso conjure up a mythical image of light above and darkness below. Oneascends toward light, and thecelestialdomain, as if risingalonga stairway toheaven.Indoingso,thetightlyregimentedspatialorderslowlygiveswaytoanawarenessoffreedomfromearthlyties.Theincreaseof lightandairinesswithaltitudecarries,with it,amysticalsenseof levitation,andspiritual flight.Thiskindofcosmicsituation,wearetoldbyEliadeinTheSacredandtheProfane,“revealsoneofthedeepestmeaningsofsacredspace,”foritallowsclimbersonthe move, penetrating level after level, to remain in their world while in“permanentcommunicationwiththesky.”20TheShakerexaltationoflightisimmediatelyapparentonbuildingexteriors,

even froma distance, due to the number of largewindows cut out ofwalls.21Fenestrationcanbesoexcessivethatwallsappearbuiltoutofholesasmuchassolidmaterial, as ifdematerialized into screens, similar to theporousmasonrywallsofnineteenth-centurytextilemillsinNewEngland.Ofcoursetherewerepractical reasons to admit as much daylight as possible to these buildings.Uniformlywell-litroomsenhancedvisualacuityinplacesofwork,reducedthewaste of energy on lamps, and, in an era before the adoption of electricilluminationinthelatenineteenthcentury,limitedthedangerofopenflamesincandlesorlanterns.Bygatheringdaylightfrommultiplesources,witheachroomoften receiving light from at least two directions, the Shaker andmill builderalikewereabletocreateglare-freeinteriorswithconsistentillumination.Unlike factory windows, however, the Shaker windowwas occasionally an

instrument of subtlemodulation.While their primary rolewas reducing draftsand retaining heat during severe New Hampshire winters, the solid woodshuttersemployedonwindowsatCanterburyandEnfieldcouldfinelytunetheamount and intensity of light in space, for they were operable by hand fromwithin rooms. Illumination couldbe instantlybrightenedordimmed, aimedorpositioned, by adjusting various panels within a shutter assembly. Thesemechanical marvels were devised with the same practical versatility as other

Shaker gadgets and implements, and often combined intomultiple panels thatslideorfoldintounexpectedpermutations,andmightdisappearaltogether,awayfromdust,intowindowrevealsorthedepthofawall.Beyonditsconventionaljobtoilluminatespaceandopenviews,thewindow

touches something deeper in the human psyche, and has long been identifiedwiththehumaneye,expressedinadagessuchas“theeyeisthewindowtothesoul”and“thewindowistheeyeofabuilding.”ForreverentShakers,theeye-likewindowservedevenasasourceofredemption.“Theeye,”itwaswrittenintheGospelofMatthew,“isthelampofthebody.So,ifyoureyeissound,yourwholebodywillbefulloflight;butifyoureyeisnotsound,yourwholebodywillbefullofdarkness.”22Connecting thisbiblicalanalogy toarchitecturearethe nineteenth-century words of Eldress Aurelia Mace, of Sabbathday Lake:“Goodandevilare typifiedby lightanddarkness.Therefore, ifwebring lightintoadarkroom,thedarknessdisappears,andinasmuchasasoulisfilledwithgood,evilwilldisappear.”23Inpackingmanylargewindowsintowalls,Shakersgavetotheirbuildingsa

stateoftransparencythatrevealedtheworldinsideandout.Beyonditsspiritualimplications, this remarkable increase in the traffic of light served a morerational aim ofmaking things lucid, exposing every scrap of space and everyhumaneventtothescrutinyofvisionandthought.Intheircompletedevotiontovisual clarity, andwhat they considered honesty as opposed to deception, theShakersembracedavalueof light thathasbeentreasuredsincethewritingsofPlato in theTimaeus, andhismetaphor for all knowingas the “firewithin theeye”—the capacity of light to illuminate the human mind by its transport ofinformationandconsequentenhancementoftheperceptionoftruth.InmakingtheShakervillage instantlyandeffortlesslyvisible, the thousands

ofglasspanesusedinwindowshadthefurthereffectofmaintainingcommunityorder by a permanent state of openness, not to mention an all-seeing tool ofsurveillance.Largeuncoveredwindowsnotonlydeniedprivacy,butalsoservedasmonitors to observe and enforce “proper” conduct. The need for excessivevisibility was spelled out in theMillennial Laws, directing elders to “strictlyoversee” the families placed under their care, and about whom they were to“knoweverything”asaresultofmembers“layingopen”theirroomsandminds.In his book Discipline and Punish, French philosopher Michel Foucaultdescribes the capacity of this kind of optical state to control activity andeliminateidlenessasa“micro-physicsofpower,”whose“seeingmachine”caneconomizelifewithoutanysurveillingeyeactuallybeingpresent.24ButalltheseattributesofShakerwindowsultimatelyservedahigherpurpose

—toinfuseearthlymatterwithtranscendentalradiance,sothat“earthwillthenhave become heaven.”25 The spiritual implications are obvious, for ShakersidentifiedluminositywithChristandGod,andconsideredlighttobethevisibleformof divinity itself, aswell as thepowerbywhichGodcommunicates andrevealsHimself.AndsotheabundantlightfromShakerwindowswassheduponacontinuous liningof reflectivematerials, tobrighten roomsevenmore.Mostreflective of all is the glossy white plaster of ceilings and walls, whose softgleamandblurryreflectionsmakethesurfaceappearself-radiant.Thepolishedand hard finish coat can display as well as disseminate light, leading NewEngland writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, following an 1851 visit to Hancock, tospeakof“plasterassmoothasmarble.”26Complementing the resplendentwhitenessofShaker rooms isawarm luster

ofwoodwork,whosegrainytexturewasrubbedandburnished,attimeswashedwith a bright orange stain, to faintly reflect incident rays as well as draw aportionoflightbeneaththesurfaceandmaketheinherentlydimsubstanceglowfromwithin.ThesheenwasfurtheramplifiedinbrilliancewhereearlyShakersappliedoilpaint todoorsandfloorboards,windowrevealsandpegrails,oftenwith startling hues such as mustard yellow or red ocher. Despite these boldpigments, it must be borne in mind that the palette of each room was quiterestricted, allowing a narrow range of closelymatched colors to intensify theradiancewithoutdisturbingitspeacefulstate.Whethernaturalorstained,paintedawarmhueor, in the case of themeetinghouse, a “heavenly blue,” the tintedwoodservesalsoasakindofframetodelineatewhiteplaster,exaggeratingitspuritybycontrast.27Woodwork reached its greatest luminosity when coated with pure yellow

paint,ahuelongassociatedwithgold,andbiblicalvisionsofgoldinheaven.28Thechrome-yellowpaintdevelopedbyShakerswas especiallydazzling, for itwasnotmerelyamattecolor,butasubstanceinwhichthebindingmediumusedfor pigments, generally linseed oil, formed a semi-transparent film that couldabsorb and then reemit incident light, producing a deep, rich, almostincandescenthue.29Whenappliedtotrimand,occasionally,entirefloors,aswascommon up to themid-nineteenth century, this exceptionally clear and brighthuemadeitseemasifadivineradiationhadenteredinsideandbeenabsorbedintowoodwork, fromoutofwhich itcontinued toemanate.Rooms, toadaptaShakerphrase,became“clothedwiththesun,whichtypifiesdivinelight.”30Forthesamereason,yellow-paintedwindowrevealsbringtomindahalo,nimbus,oraureole,asdo,moreabstractly,theyellowtrimandpegrailsoutliningwhiteplaster.

Withsomuchradiationcapturedandshininginsimplerooms,onecanreadilythinkoftheShakerinteriorasaconstructoflightasmuchasmatter,aconstructable to satisfy the “pleading”of theShaker “soul” for “anearer relation to itsCreator and for light, more light.”31 Reinforcing this impression is a closecorrespondence between the Shakers' own rainbow-like palette—red, orange,yellow,green,blue,indigo,andviolet,playingoffabrilliantwhiteground—andthecolorsoflightfoundinthesky.Reproducedinbuildingswerethetonalitiesoftheheavens,wheresunlightiscontinuallybrokenupintoitsfullspectrumofcolor. It is hard to imagine a more celestial image than these gentle, clear,transparent colorsbrought alive in changing light.Proposinga similar thoughtseveral centuries ago fromaShakerperspectivewasElderGreen,writing that“thepurityandgloryofthesevenheavenlycolors”—preciselythebasicShakercolors—arethesameasthoseemittedfromaglassprism,andthusembody“theshiningoftheeternalsun,”aswellas“thegloryandbrightness”ofGod.32TheinterplayoflargewindowsandsubtlereflectionsgiveShakerbuildingsa

soft innerglow,which is accentedbymore intense lightwhere illumination iscaughtwithindeepopenings.Highlightsofthiskindarecommonlyproducedinthickwindows,whoserevealsappeartodelaysomeoftherayspassingthrough,concentrating them inside a void carved from the wall. Also gathering extralight,whilegivingitadistinctplasticform,aredormerscutintoatticroofs,andskylightsshapedascupolasorlanterns,eachproducingabreathtakingpresenceoutofabsence.SkylightdesignreachedanartisticpeakatPleasantHill,inboththeCenterdwellingandtrustees'office,tothepointofcompletelytranscendingits practical purpose to carry light downward. Each sculptural cavity is litindirectly from several directions, to crown the building with a metaphysicalfigure of light, which seems to float overhead as a heavenly vault and, forShakers,toemulatetheworkofGod.HoldingaspecialplaceintheShakerrepertoireoflightsourcesistheinterior

window.Illuminationpouringthroughouterwallsisnotallowedtolanguishinperimeter rooms, leaving innermost spaces indarkness. Instead thepenetratingenergy is sent further inside by glazed openings cut into dividing walls andpartitions, allowing light to seep from room to room and permeate a largebuildingmass.Illuminationistherebysharedwith,orborrowedby,spacesthatwould otherwise be excessively dim. Sometimes two apertures are closelyalignedtoform,together,adoublewindow,capableofaimingtheflowoflightacross an intervening space, such as a staircase.These coupledwindowshavethe further benefit of opening up views through layers of wall, therebyexpandingvisualcontactbetweenrooms,aswellasouttothevillageandnature.

AverticalcounterpartofthisdualapertureoccursintheChurchFamilydwellingat Hancock, where four double skylights guide zenithal light through twodifferentlevelsofatticspace.Shakers created a more comprehensive sharing of light in their porous

networksofcorridorsanddoorways,alignedorthogonallytosiphonilluminationthrough wide buildings, especially collective dwellings that housed up to onehundredmembers.Longcentralhallwaysoftenextendfromonewindow-litendof an axis to the other, and are crisscrossed by shorter channels targeted onperimeterwindows.Fromfourdifferentdirections,therefore,daylightisguidedwithout interruption through a chain of repeated openings. Intersecting thesehorizontaltunnelsaroundstairsareverticalshaftsforlighttoflow,producedbyleavingflightsopen tooneside,andcarvinggapsbetweenstairandfloorsoasmall amount of light can slip through. The result is a three-dimensionalpermeabilityinwhichlightisconveyedalongmanyroutes,andwhosesponge-likestructureisfarsuperiorinilluminatingpowertothecellularcompartmentscommontomostbuildingsupuntilthetwentiethcentury.Shaker ingenuitywith borrowed light embodies the samebasic principles—

thrift,efficiency,utility—foundintheirotherlaborsavinginventions,suchastheclothespin or flat broom, revolving oven or circular saw.The interiorwindowgotasmuchuseaspossibleoutofavailablelight,ratherthanwastingthisnaturalgift. But such widespread dispersal says something, as well, about thefundamental Shaker practice of social, economic, and spiritual equality for allmembers.Howcouldcommunality,nottomentiondignity,beachievedifcertainmembersoractivitieswereprivilegedwiththebenefitsand,forShakers,sanctityof light,whileotherswere relegated todarknessandgloom?Bygrantingeachroomajustandequalrighttonaturalillumination,buildingsgavevisibleformtothe underlying Shaker spirit of sharing, and also to their utopian dream of acommunalsocietyunitedbyreligiousconviction.Thereforelight,themediumofpractical vision anddivine blessing,was apportioned to all, and stretched intothedarkestcornersofeveryspace,eventomodeststorageareassuchasclosetsandattics.One last aspect of Shaker architecture deserves comment. The recurring

motion of natural light implies not only illumination, but also a revelation ofcosmic time, and immersion in the slow revolution of heavenly spheres. Thepassageoftimewas,ingeneral,ofconstantconcerntoShakers,asepitomizedinMotherAnn'saxiom:“Doallyourworkasthoughyouhadathousandyearstoliveonearth,andasyouwouldifyouknewyoumustdietomorrow.”Theykeptbusy every moment and saved time with efficient ways, while, conversely,avoided hurried movements and devoted time to perfecting what they made.

Everydaylifewasaplannedsuccessionofactivityandprayerthattookplaceatprescribed moments, marked by the ringing of bells and rehearsed rituals. Intheirdailyattempts tobringheaven toearth,however,Shakersmusthavealsobeenmindfulof,andcloselyattuned to, the rhythmicalcurrentsof light in thesky—akindoftimethatiseternal,celestial,andexperiential,ratherthanmerelypractical.Thepatternsoftheirliveswerecalibratedinseasons,days,andhours,increments in the solar course. These cyclic rhythms suggest a desire to liveclose to the pulse of nature, and be in harmonywith the flow of the cosmos.WhileShakersmaynothaveplanned theirbuildings tobrightenanddimwithclocklikeprecision, inconcertwithanarcingsun, theirarchitecturemakesoneawareoftheturnoftheearth,andtheebbandflowofnaturallight.Oneknows—through a direct perception of the senses—that he or she stands in a placesuffusedwiththemovingsky.Broughtnearandopeneduptohumanperception,toanextentunprecedentedinAmericanarchitecture,aredailyremindersofthewords of Genesis: “God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of theheavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and forseasonsandfordaysandyears.'”33Beginning with its orthogonal layout, every line straight and square, tying

land and buildings to the cardinal points, the Shaker settlement visualizes acosmicorder.North–south axes echo the axes of earth and sky, and east–westaxes are inscribed by the solar course. This cosmological image is furtherpronounced at sunrise and sunset, especially upon hillside sites such asCanterburyandPleasantHill,Mt.LebanonandSabbathdayLake,wheresimplemonochromaticbuildingsarepaintedoverwithcomplementarywashesofblueskyandloworangesun.Addinganintimatescaletotheseimprintsofskyistheuniform textureofShakerbuildings,whosemasonryor clapboards are able toregistertinyshiftsintheslantofthesun.Particularlyimpressivedisplaysofthiskind appear on white limestone dwellings at Pleasant Hill, whose reliefs,whether from rustication or raised mortar, come alive under glancing rays atnoonaswellasdawnanddusk,dissolvingsolidityintoaveil.Theconsummate skill ofShakerbuilders in catchingholdof a flowing sky,

and what the Bible describes as God's “greater light” that “rules the day,” isparticularly evident within their architecture. Smooth surfaces enhance andmultiply shifting intensities of light through the day. Multiple windows andchannels ensure that temporal effects reach every space, with sun arriving invarious rooms at contrasting hours and from different directions—at timesstreaming horizontally through a window, only to then rain from a skylight,perhaps trickle out of a transom window, or angle down a cascade of steps,continuallyricochetingfromonereflectiveplanetoanother.Atdawnanddusk,

longbeamsofsunpiercedeeplyinside,tosplashontowallsandspreadaroundrooms, allowing a Shaker “to inhabit the universe,” to use the words ofBachelard,justas“theuniversecomestoinhabithishouse.”34By heightening the perception of celestial motion, Shaker architecture was

able tomake visible to the eye those cosmic powers and natural rhythms thatcloselygovernlifeonearth.Broughtforthaswellbythesegentleperturbations,achievedinbuildingsthataremateriallystaticbutimmateriallyalive,isafluidmetaphysicalpresence.Likepigmentsoncanvas, the feeblest colors sent fromthe sky are visibly strengthened on barren white walls, turning some roomsvioletandothersyellow.Onecannotfailtonoticethesesubtleaurasthatdwellwithin empty space for a time, shifting in tone as the sun slips by.Morningsbegindimandblue,combedthroughwithorangeasdaybreaks,onlytobleachacrispwhite through themiddleofday, at timesburnishedgoldwhere sunlightreflectsoffasmoothpinefloor,butalwaysleftsoftaroundtheedgesbynuancedshadows.Simplegeometryandstarkplanesintensifythespectralcurrents,whichfarsurpassanyornament,anddemonstratethattheShakersknewpreciselywhatto leave out of their buildings—emptying them of everything inessential, inordertothrowattentiontosomethingelse,arealitynotofthephysicalworld.

Notes

1.It should be mentioned from the outset that while the past tense is usedrepeatedlyinthisbooktoconveyabygoneerawhenShakerarchitecturewasatits height, there remains today a tiny but energetic Shaker community of ahandful of individuals at SabbathdayLake,Maine,which is still open to newconverts.My apologies to all for the “past” tense,whose aim is to clarify theShaker culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, whichconceivedanderectedthebuildingsdiscussedandportrayedinthisbook.2.Quoted in June Sprigg, By Shaker Hands (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,

1975),p.5.3.Despite an undeniable eloquence and practical knowledge in handling a

“material” as intangible as daylight, Shakers offer scant evidence of theirarchitectural intentionswith thismedium,whether in primary sources such asletters or journals, or the nineteenth-century Millennial Laws, whose dictateswere formulated to maintain ideals and regulate behavior in Shakercommunities. Of course this silence about working with light is common, aswell,tootherpasteraswhendaylightplayedacentralroleintheconceptionofarchitecture. Perhaps this silence is generally due to the limits of language in

describingorelucidating light,but in thecaseofShakers itmustequallystemfrom a communal ethos and way of life based on individual modesty andrestraint.Architecture remaineddeliberatelyanonymousandunexplained sincework, itself, was considered a form of worship and prayer, and the act ofbuilding, as every Shaker craft,was seen as an offering toGod, rather than apersonalorcreativeaccomplishment.4.Among the exceptions to this materialist tendency in Shaker literature, I

wouldliketomentiontheinspiredwritingsofEdwardDemingAndrews,AmyStechler,ThomasMerton,andJuneSprigg.5.ElderFrederickW.Evans,AutobiographyofaShaker,andRevelationofthe

Apocalypse(Mt.Lebanon,N.Y.:ShakerCommunity,1869),p.39.6.Edward Deming Andrews, The People Called Shakers: A Search for the

Perfect Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 1953), p. 23; RevisedStandardVersion(hereinafterRSV),Revelation21and22.7.Edward Deming Andrews and Faith Andrews, Visions of the Heavenly

Sphere: A Study in Shaker Religious Art (Charlottesville: University Press ofVirginia,1969),pp.94–95.8.RSV,1John1:5;RSV,John8:12.9.FromTheManifesto (1818), quoted in Robley EdwardWhitson, ed.,The

Shakers:TwoCenturiesofSpiritualReflection(NewYork:PaulistPress,1983),p.220;quotedinAndrews,PeopleCalledShakers,p.50.10.Quoted in John McKelvie Whitworth,God's Blueprints: A Sociological

StudyofThreeUtopianSects(London:Routledge&KeganPaul,1975),p.57.11.Mircea Eliade, The Two and the One, trans. J. M. Cohen (New York:

Harper&Row,1965),p.60.12.See, for instance, François Cali, ed., Architecture of Truth (London:

Thames and Hudson, 1957); Otto von Simson, The Gothic Cathedral (NewYork: Bollingen Foundation, 1956); and Christian F. Otto, Space into Light(Cambridge,Mass.:MITPress,1980).13.William Hepworth Dixon, New America (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott,

1867),p.305.14.RudolfOtto,TheIdeaoftheHoly,trans.JohnW.Harvey(London:Oxford

UniversityPress,1923),pp.69–70.15.CalvinGreen, “Discourses,” quoted in John T. Kirk,The ShakerWorld:

Art,Life,Belief(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams,1997),p.132.16.While an extreme degree of simplification and rigor persisted in Shaker

architectureintothemid-1800s,thispurismdiminishedfollowingtheCivilWar,as changing aesthetics and Victorian embellishments began to transform theclassicalimageofShakerspace.Agrowingtastefor“worldly”decorationseems

to have paralleled the impending collapse of Shaker society during the latenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies,thoughthisconnectionishotlydebatedbyscholars.Whetherfromadesiretoappearuptodateinordertoattractnewconverts,orsimplytowelcomenewmaterialpossibilitiesandoutwardsignsofprogress, Shakers began to adorn and thus dim their previously bare andluminousbuildings—varnishingwoodwork,claddingfloorswithboldlyprintedlinoleum, and covering walls with wallpaper and ornamentation, or paintingthemsentimentalcolorssuchaslavenderormintgreen.Thesecommentsarenotmeant to diminish the quality of late Shaker architecture, which has its ownauthentic place in a living and changing process, but to simply point out thatthese later, more materialist, expressions directly reduced the presence,significance,andspiritualcharacterofShakerlight.17.Dixon,NewAmerica,p.305.18.The depth of humanmeaning in the archetypal image of a “lamp in the

window”atnightisdiscussedinGastonBachelard,ThePoeticsofSpace,trans.Maria Jolas (New York: Orion Press, 1964), pp. 33–35. For an analogousexperiencewith natural light in architecture, seemyPoetics of Light (Tokyo:A&U, 1987), Light in Japanese Architecture (Tokyo: A&U, 1995), and TheArchitectureofNaturalLight(London:Thames&Hudson,2009).19.It is ironic, yet perhaps another instance of the Shaker resolution of

opposites,thatthesecalminteriorswerethesiteofsuchexhuberantdisplaysofritualized dance,whosemarching steps, not tomention shaking andwhirling,clapping and stomping,were an integral part of Shakerworship and, in somerespects,expandeduponthespatialechoesfoundinthemeetinghouse.20.Eliade describes the ritual stair that opens to sky and a world above,

therebyconnectingearthwithheaven,asanaxismundi.SeeMirceaEliade,TheSacredand theProfane:TheNatureofReligion, trans.WillardR.Trask(NewYork:Harcourt,Brace&World,1959),pp.32–42.21.The dissolving of solid walls into light has a long history in religious

architecture, culminating in the glass curtains of Gothic cathedrals, andespecially the small palatine church of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris (1246). Butunlike thirteenth-century stained-glasswindows,Shakerwindowswere closelytiedtotheskyoutsidebytheirclearglazingandplacementneareyelevel,andcompletelyavoidedanysortofdidacticordoctrinairerolebytheirtotalabsenceoficonsandsymbols.22.RSV,Matthew6:22–23.23.EldressAureliaG.Mace,TheAletheia:SpiritofTruth (Farmington,Me.:

Knowlton&McLeary,1907),p.140.24.Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish, trans. Alan Sheridan

(Harmondsworth:Penguin,1977),pp.139and207.25.From The Shaker Manifesto XI (1881), quoted in Whitson, ed., The

Shakers,p.125.26.Nathaniel Hawthorne, American Notebooks by Nathaniel Hawthorne

(based upon the original manuscripts in the Pierpont Morgan Library),ed.RandallStewart(NewHaven,Conn.:YaleUniversityPress,1932),pp.229–230.27.ThecolorharmoniesofShakerwallsbearanuncannyresemblancetoearly

twentieth-centurycanvasesoftheDeStijl,anartisticmovementcenteredintheNetherlands, which sought also to express, through geometry and color, autopianidealofspiritualharmonyandorder.EspeciallysimilartoShakerwallsare theabstractpicturesofDutchpainterPietMondrian, composedofnothingbutafewcoloredsquaresframedwithlinesonaluminouswhiteground.AstheShakers,Mondrianwasamysticwhoadmiredtechnology,andwhoseunceasingvisualausterityandsimplificationledtoarectilinearuseofprimarycolors—red,blue, and yellow—as building blocks of an elementary art based on spiritualneeds.28.Fromtimeimmemorial,preciousgoldhasbeenidentifiedwith thedivine

for its inherent luminosity and immutability. Golden images were thought byearly Christians to predominate in heaven, as recounted in the book ofRevelation,andappearedfrequently inShakervisionsandspiritdrawings.SeeAndrewsandAndrews,VisionsoftheHeavenlySphere.29.I thank Christian Goodwillie, Curator of Collections at Hancock Shaker

Village,forbringingthistomyattention,aswellasexplainingtherestorationoforiginal yellow paint in several rooms at South Union and Hancock. Theluminouscolorsappliedoriginallytowoodbyearlynineteenth-centuryShakershavebeenlargelyobscuredbylaterShakerrepaintingandvarnishing,usingverydarktones,aswellasbysimilardecisionsoftwentieth-centurycurators.Inonerecently restored and particularly radiant room in Hancock's Church Familydwelling, identified as Room 16, the closely harmonized pigments includechrome-yellowpaintonadoublecupboardandwood trimabove the floor, setoffbyacloselymatchedmixtureofredleadandredocheronabuilt-incaseofdrawers, and yellow ocher on baseboards and floorboards. See ChristianGoodwillie, “Coloring the Past: Shaker Painted Interiors,” in The MagazineAntiques(Sept.2005):80–87.30.From The Shaker Manifesto XIII (1883), quoted in Whitson, ed., The

Shakers,p.321.31.From The Shaker Manifesto XI (1881), quoted in Whitson, ed., The

Shakers,p.326.32.Green,“Discourses,”quotedinKirk,TheShakerWorld,p.132.

33.RSV,Genesis1:14–15.34.Bachelard,PoeticsofSpace,p.51.

1

SIMPLICITY~PRISTINELIGHT

White-PaintedWoodworkMeetinghouse(1820)PleasantHill,Kentucky

MONOTONEMASS

Theradical simplificationproducedbyasingleexteriorcolor,characteristicofShaker architecture, serves to unite each form,while accentuating the play oflight over a surface, enveloping the whole in a subdued atmosphere. Thesemonochromatic effects, freeof eithervisual frictionor excitement, range fromtheabsolutepurityofawhitemeetinghouse, to themonotonecrustofstoneorbrickaroundadwelling,orcontinuouscoatofyellowpaintonaworkshop.

WhiteLimestoneFaçadeFirstWestFamilyDwelling(1811–12)PleasantHill,Kentucky

Yellow-PaintedVolumeBrethren'sShop(1810)Hancock,MassachusettsPUREWHITECAVITY

A spotless surface of smooth plaster and white paint serves to purify Shakerspace.Thisimageofperfectionrevealstheslightestsignofdirt,isdevoid,onemight even say absolved, of darkness, and is inherently ethereal, reduced tonothingbutsheerlight.

FrontEntryHallCenterFamilyDwellingHouse(1824–34)PleasantHill,Kentucky

MinistryHallMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

CentralHallCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

MinistryDiningRoomCenterFamilyDwellingHouse(MinistryAddition1845)PleasantHill,KentuckyFRAMEDWHITENESS

Inparttoavoidsmudgyfingermarksandkeepwhitesurfacesentirelyclean,andtherebyvirtuous,Shakersstainedorpaintedtheborderingelementstouchedbypeople—banisters and drawer pulls, doors and floorboards, peg rails and trim.These darker points and edgings have the further benefit of perceptuallyheighteningthepurityofwhitenessleftunblemished.Byhavingitschasteglowframedand thrown into relief, thewhiteground is emancipated from thewall,anditswhitesmadeevenwhiterbycontrast.

Left.HallwayCeilingCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

EntranceHallMinistryShop(1839,remodeled1875)SabbathdayLake,Maine

AttachedOuthouseMinistryShopSabbathdayLake,Maine

WoodKnobsandDrawerPullsMinistryShopSabbathdayLake,Maine

BETWEENWOOD&PLASTER

Aharmoniousblendingof heaven and earthwas achievedby aShaker palettereduced, often, to two very simple materials—white plaster above, and plainwoodworkbelow—sothatdwellingoccurredin-between,linkedtobothoftheserealms. Thewood of a floor normally extends up into peg rails, and a partialsheathingofwalls,elaboratedat times into longbanksofbuilt-incabinetsanddrawers stretching to the ceiling, whose continuous relief is brought alive by

rakinglightfromcornerwindows.

Built-inCupboardsinSisters'WaitingRoomChurchFamilyDwellingHouse(1830–31)Hancock,Massachusetts

Wood-LinedAlcoveSpinShop(1795,remodeled1816)Canterbury,NewHampshire

MeetingroomChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

StorageWallinSisters'AtticChurchFamilyDwellingHouse(1793,remodeled1837)Canterbury,NewHampshireWOODENCAVERN

In several rare but beautiful cases, soft wood lines an entire Shaker room,wrappingaroundeverysurfaceandovertheceilingtoproduceanimpressionofbeinginsidethewood.Insuchamonolithicvolume,thewholespacefillswithawarm tawny atmosphere.The ambience is golden, and faintly celestial,wherewood is washed with a bright yellow or orange stain, as if transmuting theearthenmaterialintoamorepureand,forShakers,divinesubstance.

LaundryRoomandDryingRacksLaundry(1816,remodeledthrough1908)Canterbury,NewHampshire

WoodshedandPrivySchoolhouse(1823,remodeled1863)Canterbury,NewHampshire

ClosetandStaircaseSchoolhouseCanterbury,NewHampshire

AtticTrustee'sOffice(1813)Hancock,Massachusetts

2

ORDER~FOCUSEDLIGHT

WindowaboveStairtoRoofCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckyMESMERIZINGWINDOW

The Shaker striving for order and calm gave a prominent visual role to thewindow, which often appears as the seminal force around which a room isdeveloped. This centering power ismagnified by simple geometry, symmetricplacement,emptywalls,andahalo-likeframe,whichareallfurtherstrengthenedbyaradiatingpatternoflightfromastillsource.

MinistryHallMeetinghouse(1794)SabbathdayLake,Maine

WindowTriptychCenterFamilyDwellingHouse(1822–33)SouthUnion,Kentucky

WindowDiptychCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

MeetingroomChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

INCANTATION

The repetition of standardized elements in Shaker architecture served basicneedsofeconomyandorder,whileensuringanonymityandplainness,butalsogavetoeveryroomacalmingrhythmthatservedthespirit.Thisreverberation,suggestiveoftheriseandfallofafugueorchant,isespeciallypronouncedintheShaker meetinghouse, whose windows shed a mesmerizing pulse of energy.Alternatingraysoflightechointobroadstripesofwhiteplaster,dividedbylines

of blue paint on wooden beams, knee braces, and peg rails. As a result,tremulous patterns of light and dark envelop the entireworship space, and itssacreddance,inavisualincantation,whosesimplewavescouldinstantlysoothemindandsoul,andinvokeafaintlymysticalspell.

RhythmsofSunandShadow,WhiteandBlueMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

MeetingroomMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

CONCENTRICTONALITIES

The parallel realms of space characteristic of Shaker dwellings produce ahypnoticsymmetryofbrightanddarkzones.Thesefiguresoflight,mosthighlydeveloped in the Center Family dwellings of South Union and Pleasant Hill,furnish twin centers in a nonhierarchical order. A perceptual balance of thewholeismaintainedbythedualarrangementofalargenumberofstrongerandweaker optical foci, consistently drawing attention back to an invisiblecenterline. Contributing to this representation, as well as mechanism, of self-

unity are the facing nodes of windows and doorways, echoing into subtlerpatterns of indirect and reflected light, all exerting a perceptual power thatarrestsandsettlesthehumanmind,whiledisciplininghumanmovement.

First-FloorHallCenterFamilyDwellingHouseSouthUnion,Kentucky

First-FloorHall,withCircleofLightCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckyDOUBLEHELIX

At the heart of the trustees' office at Pleasant Hill is an extraordinary doublestaircasebuiltbyMicajahBurnett.ConsideredbymanythepinnacleofShakerarchitecture,thestairconsistsoftwofacingspiralsthatcoiluptoasingleovalskylight.Asifenactingthegeometryoflightabove,andcontinuallyturninginonitscenter,eachcurledflightrisesthroughagrowingrainofzenithallight,tofinally arrive at an attic landing immediately beneath the luminous source—evocative,bothinsubstanceandshape,oftheheavenlyvault.Woodandplaster

turn into light the higher one rises, similar to the rarefaction, described in the1871 Shaker Manifesto, of “all matter, more or less attenuated, sublimated,etherealized,uptothelowestsphere,andthenceuptotheheavenofheavens.”

WhorlofStairsTrustees'Office(1839–41)PleasantHill,Kentucky

Facing.OvalCupolaaboveTwinStaircaseTrustees'OfficePleasantHill,KentuckyTWINSKYLIGHTS

ThetwinstairwaysofCanterbury'sdwellinghousearegraduallypulledupfourdifferentlevelsbyshowersoflightfromapairofatticskylights,oneforbrethrenandone for sisters.Eachascent finallyarrivesatachrome-yellow landing, setbarely above the everyday floor, and appearing to lead nowhere—but the skyitself.

AtticSkylightoverBrethren'sStaircaseChurchFamilyDwellingHouseCanterbury,NewHampshireFLYINGSTAIRCASE

Beckoning from the top of twin stairs at Hancock's dwelling house is anunexpectedvortexoflight.Skylightisfunneledthroughtwodifferentlevelsofatticspace,viaalargeopeningcutinthefloor,tobathe,halo,andseeminglytoconsecrate, a single freestanding stair. For those climbing to the attic, the twofacingstairsarriveatanastonishingsight.Thefinalascentshiftsback90°tothebuilding'scenterline,andrisesthroughtheshoweroflightasa“flyingstaircase,”as if the last flightwerefreedofgravity,allowingonetoriseandhover inair.Reinforcingthisupwardsweep,andthegatheringpower,ofaluminouscoreareanglingraysoffallinglightthatappeartoconvergeon,andpointbackupto,a

higherreality.

FlyingStairofDoubleAtticChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,MassachusettsTIEREDSKYLIGHTS

ThefirstmeansofheavenlyascentbuiltbyMicajahBurnettatPleasantHillwasadoublestaircase in theCenterFamilydwelling.Thesedual flightsaredrawnupward, and crowned at the top, by two successive zenithal lights, whoseillumination leaks throughgaps ineachfloorbelow.First toemerge isanatticskylightwhose brilliance, aswell as emanation, perceptually centers the roombeneath. This modest storage area for winter clothing, along with its ring ofpoplardrawers,seemstobegatheredandblessedbylight,asifitwereachapel.The penultimate stage is followed by a dormer-lit void higher above, whoseflood of light leads to the roof, but whose journey points to empty sky—

suggestingadoorwayontotheheavens.

CracksofLightinTwinStaircaseCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

AtticSkylightatTopofTwinStairCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

Dormer-SkylightabovePoplarDrawersCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

FinalFlighttoRoofCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

3

LUMINOSITY~INNERLIGHT

CornerofAtticCenterFamilyDwellingHouseSouthUnion,KentuckyMAXIMUMFENESTRATION

In theirefforts tosqueezeasmuchdaylightaspossible intobuildings,Shakerspierced the outerwallswith closely spacedwindows, allowing illumination tostreaminfromeveryside.AsthemostsacredplaceintheShakersettlement,andthenearestthingtoheavenonearth,themeetinghousewasmadeespeciallyairyandbrightbyacontinuousbandofrepeatingwindows.Butrenderedalmostasporous,andat timescathedral-like,wereutilitarianbuildingssuchas laundriesandmachineshops,tanneriesandpoultryhouses,millsandbarns.

CirclesofWindowsonTreeDifferentLevelsRoundBarn(1826,rebuilt1865)Hancock,Massachusetts

MeetingroomWindowsMeetinghouse(1792–93,movedfromShirleytoHancock1962)Hancock,MassachusettsINTERIORSHUTTERS

The internal shutters with which windows are equipped at Canterbury andEnfield permit a range of lighting adjustments.AtEnfield's dwelling house, afour-shutter system allows each panel to be operated independently, or incombination with others, so that light can be regulated at will, like a cameraaperture, according to weather, temperature, and human activity. When theshuttersareopened,theyfoldbackanddisappearintowindowreveals.

Four-ShutterSystemChurchFamilyDwellingHouse(1837–41)Enfield,NewHampshireWHITEKENTUCKYLIMESTONE

The muted radiance of limestone dwellings at Pleasant Hill derives from anexceptionallywhite stone, known locally asKentuckymarble. Te blocks varyslightlyintoneandtexture,accordingtowheretheyweretakenfromthequarryandhowtheyweresubsequentlycut,andweregivenanaddedperceptualdepthby raisedmortar andbrighter stonesused for lintels.The result is awall fromwhichlightappearstoissue,ratherthanmerelyreflect.

FrontEntrywithSide-by-SideDoorsCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

FrontFaçadeCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

WHITE-PAINTEDSTONEWORK

In the dark basement rooms of Pleasant Hill's Center dwelling, scarce lightadmitted throughwindows is conserved by continual reflections of thewhite-painted foundationwalls. Beyond brightening spaces that would otherwise begloomy, whiteness sensitizes the texture to raking light, folding cast shadowsintohighlights,andmakingthedimilluminationappearbrighterbycontrast.

BasementKitchenCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

BasementWorkroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckyWHITEONWHITE

As daylight pours into Shaker buildings, it immediately reflects ofmirror-likefloors and silky white plaster. The whiteness is neither uniform nor sterile,however,foravariedinterplayofsourceandsurfaceproducesathousandsubtle,almost indefinable tones.Asa result, roomsdonotappearsuperficiallybright,but seem to have soaked up light, as if taking possession of falling rays andweddingthemintotheirownsubstance.

CentralHallwayCenterFamilyDwellingHouseSouthUnion,Kentucky

PlasterVaultingCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckyYELLOWLIGHT

TheluminousyellowpaintusedroutinelyonwoodworkbyearlyShakers,setofbyslightlydimmeryellow-orangesandyellow-reds,conveysabeliefincolorasmaterializedlight.Sharinganintimationofheavenwithadjoiningwhiteplasterare the radiant yellows of doors and window frames, cabinets and peg rails,baseboards and floors, all of which seem to emanate joy from unexpecteddirections,andgiveearth-boundroomsaskywardinfection.

Chrome-YellowTrimandYellow-OcherFloorChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

YellowWindowFrameChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

Yellow-OcherTrim,Red-OcherBaseboards,andChrome-YellowFloorMinistryShop(1846–47)SouthUnion,Kentucky

YellowCupboardsandWoodboxChurchFamilyDwellingHouseCanterbury,NewHampshireLUSTROUSWOOD

UnpaintedShakerwoodworkappearsatfirstglancetobedarkanddull,perhapsfriendlytotouchandforgivingoffingerprints,butadimfoiltogleamingwhiteplaster. Closer inspection, however, especially for the moving eye, reveals agentle sheen thatwaxesandwaneswithangleofviewand incident rays.Thismutedglow,oftenbrightenedbyanorangestainorthinyellowwash,appearstoliewithin thegrainywoodwork itself,an impressiondeepenedby theshadow-linedfacetsofmultiplepanels.

Yellow-WashedPineCupboardsinSisters'AtticChurchFamilyDwellingHouseCanterbury,NewHampshire

Orange-StainedCupboardsofDiningRoomChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,MassachusettsCLASPEDLIGHT

Rare curves interrupting the rigid straight lines of Shaker architecture tend tocurl around, andcaress, the illumination that fills them.From thevaulted sideentries at Pleasant Hill, to the sinuous banister of Canterbury's schoolhouse,these soft, almost sensuous cavities stand out and gleam against the shade ofcentralhalls.

SideEntryCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

PassagetoRetiringRoomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

UpperStaircaseSchoolhouseCanterbury,NewHampshire

LowerStaircaseSchoolhouseCanterbury,NewHampshire

ATTICDORMER

ThemostcommonplaceyetvariedsourceofnaturallightinaShakeratticisthedormerwindow.Inadditiontobrighteningtheshadebeneatharoof,thisspatialcellisimbuedwithitsownlight,andinsertsintothematerialbuildingavolumeofimmaterialenergy.Gainingaddedpresencebytheattic'soverallvacancyandplainness, the dormer induces the human eye to perceive it as a container oflight, whose radiant shape derives from angled reveals as well as its location

relativetofloororceiling,whoseplanebecomesanextensionoflight.

MinistryRoomDormerMeetinghouseHancock,Massachusetts

AtticDormerunderNorthEavesChurchFamilyDwellingHouseCanterbury,NewHampshire

CentralDormeratFrontofAtticCenterFamilyDwellingHouseSouthUnion,Kentucky

Attic Dormer along Floor Center Family Dwelling House South Union,KentuckyCUPOLATheskylightsofPleasantHill'sCenterdwellingandtrustees'officeopentoskythroughdormerssetperpendiculartotheridgeline.Whatresultarelanternsthatare recessedandextendabove theirceilings, intowhich lightarrives fromtwodirections,whereuponitismixedbeforebeinggentlydiffusedtospacesbelow.Daylightisthusnotdeliveredimmediately,butisfirstcanalizedthroughaseriesof reflections that diminish its intensity, and vary both its quality and route.Whiletheluminouscavityhoveringoverthedwellingatticispolygonalinshapewith a simple vault, the void above the trustees' office is a sinuous oval that

emulatesthesphereofthesky.

AtticDormer-SkylightCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

OvalCupolaofAtticTrustees'OfficePleasantHill,Kentucky

4

EQUALITY~SHAREDLIGHT

TransomoverDiningRoomDoorsChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,MassachusettsTRANSOMWINDOW

Transomwindows, frequently placed by Shakers above inner aswell as outerdoors,provideameanstoincreasethelightsharedbetweenneighboringrooms,andmaintain this flowevenwhendoorsare fullyclosed. Interior transomsaretypicallysetoverdoorsconnectingdarkcorridorsandwell-litperimeterrooms,and takeshapes ranging frommulti-paned rectangles toarchedor semicircularfanlights.

FanlightbetweenKitchenandDiningRoomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

ArchedTransomoverInfirmaryDoorCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckyINTERIORWINDOW

Thestretchingoflight,andtheopenfeeling,affordedbyaninteriorwindowareespeciallyimpressivewhenabletotransformanutterlymundanespace,suchasa back stair or closet. An ingenious device to siphon daylight deeply into abuilding, this glazed opening serves also to share illumination between roomsdemandingacousticseparation, soas tospread light inapeacefulway, freeofdisruptingnoise.

DiningRoomWindowontoKitchenStairChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

WindowbetweenKitchenStairandDiningRoomChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

WindowontoLandingofStairSpinShopCanterbury,NewHampshire

ClosetWindowCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

DOUBLEWINDOW

Byguidingaportionofdaylightdirectlyacrossaninterveningspace,thedoublewindowilluminatestwodifferentroomsatonce,ordinarilyaperimeterstairanda roomfurther inside.Surprisingviews to theoutside, aswell as into the stairbetween,arethusopenedthroughanormallycloseddividingwall.

Elders'RoomwithViewoverStaircaseMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

DoubleWindowoverMinistryStair,withElders'RoomatLeftMeetinghousePleasantHill,KentuckyENFILADEOFOPENINGS

ThecontinuouschannelsoflightandviewcarvedthroughthemassofaShakerbuildingdependuponaprecisealignmentof corridorsanddoorswithexteriorwindows.LikeX-rayspiercingsolidmatter, these linesofenergyintersectoneanothertoformagridofroutesforflowinglight.

TransversePassageacrossCentralHallCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

CentralHallwayChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

Second-FloorHallCenterFamilyDwellingHouseSouthUnion,Kentucky

MinistryRoomswithSixConsecutiveOpeningsMeetinghousePleasantHill,KentuckyLATTICEOFLIGHT

Vertical and horizontal streams of energy interflow in the vicinity of stairs,where differently colored intensities of light, from skylights andwindows, aresharedandmixedafterarrivingfrommanydirections.

LowerAtticChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

Second-FloorCorridorSisters'DairyandWeaveShop(1795,remodeled1820)Hancock,Massachusetts

Second-FloorHallandTwinStairsCenterFamilyDwellingHouseSouthUnion,Kentucky

5

TIME~CYCLICLIGHT

MinistryHallMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

SHADOWPLAYONLIMESTONE

Pleasant Hill's limestone dwellings are extremely responsive to shifting skies.Displayed upon their white volumes are all of the sun's refracted colors,includingfainthuesoftenmissedbythehumaneye.Withitswallsalignedtothecardinalpoints,eachbuildingbehavesasagnomon,registeringandshowingtheflow of shade from plane to plane, as well as at the microscale of masonrytexture,producedontheCenterdwellingbyraisedwhitemortar.

GrazingSunonEastFaçadeatNoonCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

ViewfromSoutheastatDawnCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckySPECTRALCOLORS

The absolutewhite of aShakermeetinghouse, as prescribedby theMillennialLaws,gaveeachvillageaspiritualcenterofmaximumpurityandradiance.Butmaximizedalsoontheplainandhighlyreflectiveclapboardswasavisibilityofeach passing moment, and each new emanation of sun. Melting the sky intowallsaredelicatetonesofcoloredlight,rangingfromthesoftgraysofovercastweatherandstarchedwhitesofcleardays,tothetransparentyellowsandvioletsarrivingearlyandlate,anddeeperbluesandorangesoftwilight.

ViewfromNorthwestatSunriseMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

WestWallatSunsetMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

TREESHADOWS

Dappled shadows cast ontowalls fromneighboring trees turnnoticeablybold,and cinematic, on a perfectly whitemeetinghouse. As if thrown onto a blankprojection screen, shadows tell of the slant of sun andweather conditions, butalsoconveythetimeofseasonbytheirrelativethinnessordensity.Revealedaswellbyswayingshadowsisthepresenceofwind,paintingwallswithaflutterytimethatderivesfromtheskybutwhosetempoisnotthesameasthesun.

AfternoonShadowsonWestFaçadeMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

MorningShadowsonEastFaçadeMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,MaineSPLASHESOFSUN

When a low, and almost horizontal, beam of sun penetrates into a shadowyroom, at daybreak or sundown, its patch of light takes on a spellbindingpresence,asdoesitsslowprogressionaroundthewalls.Setagainstemptyplanesandplacidspace, theconcentrationofenergyappears to theeyeasa luminousfigure, andconstitutes ametaphysical reality that ismore real at thatmoment,andthrobbingwithlife,thananythingaroundit.

BarofSettingSunonEntryDoorMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

DawnSunbeamandWindowRefractionsinMinistryStaircaseMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

BentStreakofSuninMinistryHallMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

RefractedSuninMeetingroomMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

COEXISTINGTIMESTATES

Adjoining white rooms with contrasting window orientations foster amultiplicityoftimestates.Windowsmightilluminateonespacewithwarmsun,whileitsneighboriscoollywashedwithvioletsky,orcastbluish-greenbylightfiltered through trees, making the different moments of waxing and waningenergysimultaneouslyvisible.Thesecelestialhuesgrowinpresence,astheyaremutually intensified in the human eye through simultaneous and successivecontrast, making yellows appear yellower and violets more violet than they

actuallyare.

DawnViewintoMeetingroomfromSideEntryMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

AfternoonViewfromOneElder'sRoomtoAnotherMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

MorningViewfromEasttoWestMinistryRoomsMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

PassagetoMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckyGOLDENCAST

Dispersionsofsunoffhighlyreflectiveandwarm-coloredfloorscancompletelytransform a simplewhite room.The faintly yellow rays become further tintedwhenbouncingoff floorboardsofunpaintedpine,orcoatingsofpaint that arereddish-yelloworyellowish-red.Atthesametime,enigmaticrisingshadowsarecast frombelowand,due to the floor'smirror-like finish,bright spots ricochetonto ceilings to double the brilliance. As this golden light reaches into everycorner,theroomisbathedinanambienthuethatShakersidentifiedwithheaven.

MinistryCorridoratSunsetMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

MinistryHallatMiddayMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

DiningRoomatDawnChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

MeetingroominEarlyMorningMeetinghousePleasantHill,Kentucky

YellowReflectionsonYellowWoodworkSisters'Shop(1816)Canterbury,NewHampshire

CentralHallinEarlyMorningSisters'Shop(1821)SabbathdayLake,MaineREVOLVINGLIGHT&COLOR

ThespaceofaShakermeetinghouseisdescribed,inaSister'sdiaryin1837,“asif thewindowsofheavenwereopenandshowersofblessingsdescendeduponus, yea more than we had room to receive.” One can almost follow theseshowerswith a human eye, tracking the revolution of sun, as its slanting raysglideoverobjects,andalterhue,inacontinuouscircuitfromdawntodusk.Withits ring of windows, framing successive moments in the solar course, themeetingroom creates a greater world of space, and, in doing so, makes anunintendedbut tellinganalogywithancientcirclesof stones linked to the sky,such as Stonehenge in Britain, or the Medicine Wheels of American Plains

Indians.

MeetingroomatDawnMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

MeetingroomatSunsetMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

CROSSFIREOFSUNI

The north–south axis typical of a Shaker dwelling, its windows and roomspacked along east and west sides, makes the interior highly receptive to lowsunshine.AtdaybreakandsundowninHancock'sChurchdwelling,illuminationsoarsacross thecentralhallat itsmidpoint,brighteningsideentriesandstairs,andcoalescinginasoftcloudofgoldenlight.Mostrays,however,arecaughtinrooms lining the central hall, whose hidden brilliance is only revealed whendoorsareswungopen,toproduce,especiallyalongthefirstfloor,longenfilades

ofcoloredlight.

EarlyMorningViewthroughBrethren'sRoomsChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

EarlyMorningViewLookingNorthfromBrethren'sSideEntryChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,Massachusetts

Second-FloorHallwayatDawnChurchFamilyDwellingHouseHancock,MassachusettsCROSSFIREOFSUNII

Hollowed through its entire width with east–west channels for light to flow,PleasantHill'sCenterdwelling iscombed throughwithsunbeamsatdawnandsunset.Goldenrays,fromwindowsandtransoms,travelfromsidetosideacrossthe main hall, piercing and warming the bluish shade in a series of parallelbands.Aftergentlysprayingthewallsatfirstlight,theseraysslowlywithdrawandbegintosharpenasthesunrises,anepiphanythatrepeatsinreverseasthesungoesdown.

DawninCentralHallwayCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

EarlySunsetinCentralHallwayCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

SunsetinCentralHallwayCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

LastSuninCentralHallwayCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,KentuckyLIGHTORCHESTRATION

ThecrowningachievementofevanescentShakerlightisthemeetingroombuiltbyMicajahBurnetton thesecond floorofPleasantHill'sCenterdwelling.Sethighonitselevatedsite,withavaultedceilingthatevokestheheavens,andfourlarge windows to east and west, this undivided space, where members oncegatheredformeetingsandworship,formsanidealvesseltocollectanddisplaytheshiftingeffectsofKentuckyskies.Dramaticallyframedbynarrowcorridorsentering from north and south, the meetingroom remains pure white, andabsolutely still, through the long middle portion of the day. A few angledsunbeams arrive inmidmorning andmid-afternoon, and the rays bounce off a

mirror-likefloortodapplethewhiteness.Butearlyandlate,theunadornedvoidisentirelytransfiguredbylowraysofgoldenlight.Arrivinginsheaves,sunlightstretches over the room and bends up the wall, only to curve back along theceiling,envelopingspacewithbandsofgold,andfillingtheroomwithadense,almosttangible,andspiritual,energy.

FirstLightofSunriseinMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

MidSunriseinMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

LateSunriseinMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

LateMorninginMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

MiddayinMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

LateAfternooninMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

SunsetinMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

LastSuninMeetingroomCenterFamilyDwellingHousePleasantHill,Kentucky

SideEntranceMeetinghouseSabbathdayLake,Maine

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HenryPlummerisanarchitectandphotographer,andcurrentlyProfessorof

ArchitectureattheUniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign,whereheisalsoanassociateoftheCenterforAdvancedStudy.AmonghisbooksarePoeticsofLight,LightinJapaneseArchitecture,andTheArchitectureofNaturalLight.