“We advance toward the light, only to see it disintegrate into its ephemeral nature.” James Turrell James Turrell works with perception—and misperception. He has been sued by someone who leaned on a “wall,” according to the deposition—but collapsed as there was nothing solid there. Another plaintiff tried to walk through a misty space, but rammed into a solid wall. Others of us relish in being a player in the subtle yet dynamic transformations that occur as our eyes adjust and environments seem to shift, defining and redefining space. With three exhibitions on view now across the country—at the Guggenheim in New York, LACMA in Los Angeles, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston—now is a rare opportunity to experience Turrell’s work. Turrell’s medium is light: colored light and white light; artificial light and natural light; and the absence of light, darkness. He says that light making is the architecture of space, and indeed we can only perceive space when it is illuminated. When the lights go out, space seems to disappear. This plastic and material medium is the only element for Turrell. His light does not illuminate any object. Turrell has said, “Light is unlike clay, you can’t form it with hands, you can’t carve it away like wood, or chip it away like stone, or assemble it through welding. It’s almost like making the instrument first…and then…have it perform.”
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 22:10:17 +0000
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