James Turrell

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Satellite view of Roden Crater, the site of an earthwork in progress by James Turrell outside Flagstaff, Arizona.
Satellite view of Roden Crater, the site of an earthwork in progress by James Turrell outside Flagstaff, Arizona.

James Turrell (born 1943, Los Angeles) is an artist primarily concerned with light and space. He is best known for his work in progress, Roden Crater. Located outside Flagstaff, Arizona, Turrell is turning this natural cinder volcanic crater into a massive naked-eye observatory, designed specifically for the viewing of celestial phenomena. His other works usually enclose the viewer in order to control their perception of light; a James Turrell skyspace is an enclosed room large enough for roughly 15 people. Inside, the viewers sit on benches along the edge to view the sky through an opening in the roof. He is also known for his light tunnels and light projections that create shapes that seem to have mass and weight, though they are created with only light. As a lifelong Quaker, Turrell designed the Live Oaks Meeting House for the Society of Friends, with an opening or skyhole in the roof, wherein the notion of light takes on a decidedly religious connotation. (See PBS documentary).

Contents

[edit] Past exhibitions

  • City of Anhirit
  • Trace elements: Light into space
  • Ghost Wedge
  • Pleiades
  • Heavy Water
  • Afrum I
  • Into the Light
  • Milk Run
  • Unseen Blue
  • Big Red

[edit] Skyspace locations

[edit] Books

  • Eclipse. Documents The Elliptic Ecliptic and Arcus, two temporary installations accompanying the last total eclipse of the 20th century. (ISBN 3-7757-0898-7)
  • The Other Horizon. An overview of Turrell's development from 1967 to 2001. (ISBN 3-7757-9062-4)
  • James Turrell : the art of light and space by Craig Adcock. (ISBN 0-520-06728-2)

[edit] Films

[edit] Interviews

[edit] External links

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