James Turrell

James Turrell was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1943.  He studied psychology and mathematics at Pomona College, but ended up earning a MFA from the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California.  Turrell centers his work in exploring light and space, speaking to his viewers with a spiritual awakening.  By utilizing his studies in perceptual psychology and optical illusion, his work seeks to allow his viewers to see themselves “seeing”.  He accomplishes this in the use of artificial and natural light within the space which enable the viewer to become one with the space.  You are no longer space yourself, but instead one with your surroundings in a realm of pure existence.  You are part of a sunset of color that spans the light spectrum; from bright pinks, to sky blues; from tones in violet, to the deep reds of a fire. 

 His installment at the rotunda of the Guggenheim in 2013 has transformed the organic, curvilinear space into a space that changes from tones of blue, to shades of violet.  The viewer is placed in the space, giving a surreal experience as they intermingle with the color that’s surrounds you. 

Aten Reign, 2013

James Turrell

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC, NY

He also creates geometric spaces such as The Light Side, by placing the viewer in a corridor of color that flows towards the background.  The viewer can walk through the space of blue, violet, or red and find themselves at a spot where you are among the bracket of the piece.  So I wonder what the focal point of the space is.  Is it the space in general?  Or the tone of color placed at the end?  Is it the person who has walked through, bracketing them so they become the focal point while the space becomes the background?  I don’t think I’d know until I can place myself within those brackets… maybe it’s different for each person.

The Light Inside, 1999

James Turrell

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston