James Turrell

Why James Turrell Had to Become a Cattle Rancher to Realize His Most Ambitious Project Yet

Discipline: Art

James Turrell’s art is based on the manipulation of light (1). His choice of medium comes from his interest and studies in perceptual psychology. Graduate studies in art at the University of California at Irvine wouldn’t last long. Entering in 1966 he stayed one semester until his arrest in an FBI sting operation for counseling potential draftees on how to avoid going to Vietnam. Released in 1967 he would move to Los Angeles with what little money he had. Turrell found the rundown Mendota Hotel in the Ocean Park section of Los Angeles which was essentially a slum, moved in and got to work (2). Some other struggling artists had studios there as well.

While at the Mendota Turrell would seal up windows and paint the place completely white while strategically cutting holes in the sealed-up windows for his light experiments. During the daylight, light would move slowly across the room while at night the light would dance around the room as cars passed. He supported himself by rebuilding car engines and flying planes. First as a crop duster then later as a mail courier in the San Joaquin Valley (3). He learned to fly in 1960 when he volunteered to enter the draft as a conscientious objector due to his Quaker heritage. The alternative service involved flying for an air-transport agency that conducted missions for the CIA. Flying small planes into Tibet to get Buddhist Monks out who participated in the revolt against China’s puppet regime (4). Turrell’s first break came when his former art professor John Coplans would exhibit several of Turrell’s light experiments at the Pasadena Museum of Art. This would be his first solo show (5).

Later LACMA would pursue him to purchase his drawings, and the Pace gallery commissioned him to produce ten pieces and provided an advance. He’d decline both opportunities as he didn’t want to sell his art. Turrell preferred transforming rooms at the Mendota Hotel instead of doing commissions. Run-ins with his landlord came when he cut his first skyspace out of the ceiling in his room and roof of the building. His skyspaces would translate the sky’s changing light into a physical presence. These experiments would attract the adventurous Italian art collector Count Panza di Biumo who commissioned not only a skyspace but other light works at his Palazzo in Verese. Completed in 1974 this was Turrell’s 1st commissioned work. That same year a group of Hollywood investors bought the Ocean Park block that included the Mendota Hotel and all the artists including Turrell were forced out. (6).

The eviction was a blessing in disguise as it forced Turrell to think deeply about what he wanted to do next. His epiphany came when he decided that he wanted to bring art into nature. Turrell spent countless months scouring the country in his plane and sleeping in his sleeping bag underneath its wing until he chose the Roden Crater. The Roden Crater was an extinct volcano on the western edge of the Painted Desert in Northern Arizona was to be transformed into the ultimate skyspace for celestial events. This project would become Turrell’s life’s work. To do this, he needed a massive bank loan. As banks don’t provide loans for art projects, he had to buy the land as a cattle ranch. It’s roughly 156 square miles with roughly 1000 heads of cattle (7). “Agriculture is actually subsidizing the art. I’m not sure if it’s harder making a living as a rancher or as an artist, but I think people behave better in ranching.” (8).

Initial funding to build the skyspaces and the lodges came from the Dia Foundation in the early 80s. The first phase is complete but multiple phases are left, and its total cost will most likely exceed $20 million. Two other lodges are planned on the crater where all three will accommodate 20 visitors at a time to observe celestial events. Observation requires an overnight stay. (9). When the economy bottomed out the Dia withdrew support. With $400,000 in outstanding loans on equipment and supplies, Turrell had to sell everything as quickly as possible. He wound up being $38,000 in the hole from the ordeal (10). Throughout the mid-90s, Turrell supported the entire project himself. He rebuilt and sold vintage airplanes at a substantial profit to keep the project going. Turrell also worked as a cattle rancher until a manager could be hired full-time. Luckily around this time, he found a market for his light shows. He could charge roughly $10,000 for each execution. Turrell had approximately 300 shows exhibited in galleries around the world.

A divorce settlement threatened to divide the Roden crater property in half where he had to buy back his former wife’s share that almost put him into bankruptcy. The Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe stepped in along with the Dia foundation in the late 90s only to pull funds again. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is currently funding the completion of Phase 2 of the Roden Crater (11).

References

1. Tomkins, Calvin. “Lives of the Artists: Portraits of Ten Artists Whose Work and Lifestyles Embody the Future of Contemporary Art.” Henry Holt and Company, 2010, p. 96.
2. Idem p. 105.
3. Idem p. 106.
4. Idem p. 104.
5. Idem p. 106.
6. Idem p. 108.
7. Idem p. 96.
8. Idem p. 97.
9. Idem p. 99.
10. Idem p. 108.
11. Idem p. 111.

Originally published at blog.viktorbezic.com.