Light My Fire: James Turrell
James Turrell (1943-) is an American Installation Artist, well-known for his spatial art utilizing light.
Interestingly, before becoming an artist, Turrell was a light aircraft pilot who majored in math and psychology in college.
Since the 1960s, he has been active as one of the core members of the Light and Space Movement, which took place in the western United States and began to present works that maximize the aesthetic function of space using light.
As the name suggests, the member artists of the Light and Space Movement produced various experimental works using space and light. Of the different utilizations of space and light, Turrell focused on the Ganzfeld Effect.
The Ganzfeld Effect refers to hallucinations that humans create in their brains when their senses are limited.
Like the ‘southern school’ of ancient East Asia, Turrell wanted to create works that the audience imagines in a minimalistic space, which would mean that each person would walk away with a different impression of the same art.
Turrell also uses the sky itself as a motif for his work, in addition to enclosed spaces where colors change.
The use of the sky has the same basic concepts and goals of contemporary art which try to embody the logic of a changing world.
Turrell’s works are made up of thoroughly calculated mass and texture, and it is difficult to determine their depth or size with the naked eye. The color inside the space constantly changes, and the combination of these elements creates a unique space.
In this space, the audience can apply their imaginations. Such as walking through the sky. There’s no doubt that Turrell’s background as a pilot is one of the reasons for creating these surrealist experiences.
Courtesy of:
-Copenhagen Contemporary
-MoMA
Art de Finance
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