James Turrell

by Turrell, James

• ISBN13: 9783775724555
• ISBN10: 3775724559
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-05-31
• Publisher: Hatje Cantz Verlag Gmbh & Co Kg

Summary

James Turrell (born 1943) has been working with light in all its manifestations since the 1960s. Moving beyond the purely scientific investigation of optical phenomena, his works are designed to induce extraordinary experiences for the viewer, through the manipulation of light and color. The artist has been pursing this aim since 1974, when he began transforming the Roden Crater-an extinct volcano in the Arizona desert-into an observatory, inside of which visitors can immerse themselves in the embrace of an unusually pure experience of light. Turrell is currently realizing his largest installation to date in the 18-by-30-meter hall at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. This work resembles the Roden Crater project, inverted and rotated 90 degrees; it thus provides a foretaste of Turrell's still incomplete epic masterpiece. This richly illustrated publication documents and contextualizes the genesis of this extraordinary and ambitious work of art.

Author Biography

James Turrell (1943 in Los Angeles) has been working with all of the manifestations of light since the sixties. Moving beyond the scientific investigation of optical phenomena, his works open up the dimensions of spiritual experience. The artist has been pursing this aim since 1974, when he began transforming Roden Crater-an extinct volcano in the Arizona desert---into an observatory. Inside this multipartite environment, visitors can immerse themselves in the totality of light. Turrell is currently realizing his largest installation to date in the 17-by-40-meter hall at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. This Ganzfeld Piece resembles the crater, everted androtated 90 degrees. Thus the Wolfsburg installation provides a foretaste of Turrell's still incomplete, epic work in Arizona. This richly illustrated publication with essays by Richard Andrews, Markus Bruderlin, Esther Barbara Kirschner, Annelie Lutgens, and Peter Weber documents, among other things, the genesis of this new work of art.