light projection

                          j a m e s   t u r r e l l

James Turrell is commonly associated with the light and space movement.  He uses projected light extensively in his art to create minimalist compositions that also function as optical illusions.  He describes his work as being not minimalist or conceptual, but perceptual.

Early Works

Turrell’s first solo show (at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1966) consisted of several light projection pieces which appeared to create three dimensional objects out of light.

Afrum-Proto is an example on one of Turrell’s early works (it was shown at his 1966 solo show and is his first light work).  The piece creates the illusion that a three dimensional cube is floating in the corner of the room (these works are sometimes referred to as cross-corner projection pieces).  This effect is accomplished by aiming light from a slide projector through a template (Turrell’s inspiration for these works supposedly stemmed from looking at slides in art history classes).  When the viewer stands further back from the image the illusion is stronger; it begins to simply look like light projected onto a wall as the viewer approaches it more closely. Gard Blue is another example of Turrell’s early projection works.

   

Gard Blue

Afrum-Proto

"Wall" Works

These early works of Turrell’s consist of light being projected onto a wall to create an illusion.  In later works Turrell creates works which actually go into the wall.  Danaë was the first work in which Turrell actually cut into the gallery wall.  He created a smaller room with in the wall which was flooded with lavender colored light.  The projectors for this piece were actually hidden within the small room and were not visible to the viewer (the projectors in his earlier works like Afrum-Proto were never hidden).  As the viewer first approaches the work it appears that it is simply a flat plane, but upon closer inspection it becomes evident that it is actually a three dimensional space.  Spread is another example of Turrell cutting into a wall and flooding the space with light; however, in this case the viewer can actually enter the space and become completely immersed in the light.  The experience has been described as similar to being “enclosed within Color Field paintings”.
Turrell was sued by a woman who broke her arm while viewing one of his works.  He states, “Her testimony was that I had created a blue wall, but when she leaned against the blue wall it wasn’t there. It was made of light.”

 

Danaë

Spread

Spread

Perceptual Cells

Turrell has created works that are even more immersive than Spread.  In his piece Gasworks the viewer lies on their back on a bed and is pushed into a 12 foot enclosed spherical chamber where their entire body is enveloped in light.  During the experience the viewer completely loses their depth perception.  Turrell created several other variations of these immersive installations; he calls them “Perceptual Cells”.

Gasworks

Perceptual Cell

Perceptual Cell

Skyscapes

Turrell also creates works which are not based around projected light.  He has created several pieces in which he cuts into the roof of a museum; allowing the sky to show through.  The light which enters through these sky windows is reflected onto the walls and floors of the museum and becomes a part of the work.

Skyscape

Roden Crater

Roden Crater

James Turrell’s largest endevor is his project at Roden Crater (still under construction).  He has reshaped the crater to create several chambers in which viewers can observe various celestial events.  Within one of these chambers viewers experience “celestial vaulting” a phenomenon in which the sky appears to be domed rather than flat, this gives the viewer the feeling that they are standing on the edge of the earth.  The work is a combination of architecture, installation art, astronomical observatory and Turrell’s skyscape works and can arguably be seen as being related to the land art of artists like Robert Smithson.  (Roden Crater is located near Flagstaff, AZ).
To show to other people what he is working on at Rode Crater Turrell uses models, photographs and (the method that is perhaps most interesting to us) stereophotography.  He has shown these photographs and models in various galleries in an attempt to create more public recognition for his project and garner further support.

Roden Crater Model (North Space)

Roden Crater Model (South Space)

Sources:

Explanation of Afrum Proto:
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/turrell/card2.html
Spread:
http://www.artdish.com/whats-cookin.asp?ID=41
Turrell exhibit at SMoCA:
http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2001/02/11/28083.html
Turrell exhibit at Henry Art Gallery:
http://64.180.110.181/preview/features/turrell.html
Exhibit at the Mattress Factory:
http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/030305_lightspace.html
http://www.mattress.org/catalogue/02/turrell/#
House of Light (Japanese site, good pictures of skyscapes):
http://www.muse.co.jp/~haruki/tsumari2000/turrell/turrell.html
Visual overview of Turrell’s works:
http://www.basearts.com/workshops/turrellweb/
Roden Crater Stereophotography:
http://www.ray3dzone.com/cycper.html
General Information:
http://urban.arch.virginia.edu:16080/~sch-docs/calendar/bios/turrell.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/highlights/001102_turrell.shtml
Art Tower Mito exhibition summary:
http://www.soum.co.jp/mito/art/95/turrell/release-e.html