James Turrell: The Art of Lighting

 James Turrell: The Art of Lighting

by Tucker Ransom

 

            Artist James Turrell spent his life exploring the depth and beauty of light and our perception of light from in and out of our world. In “Spirituality” an episode from the series Art in the Twenty-First Century, we see Turrell use light to convey otherworldly feelings to help us transcend the reality of our world and look deeper into ourselves.

 

A person sitting at a table Description automatically generated with low confidence
Turrell designing Roden
Crater's dome
Turrell was a pilot for years and used this experience to complement his art. On his website, Jamesturrell.com, he states that “the sky is his studio, material and canvas”. In the documentary, we see how Turrell used his ability as a pilot to search the optimal spot for his skylight viewing, the Roden Crater. Turrell worked for years in this site to build a sort of observatory, where the viewer can enter and see starlight and the sky without horizon. When we look upon the sun or the moon, we think it is the sun and moon that are moving, but we know that it is the earth that is rotating. By separating the viewer from the distraction of the horizon, the work allows us to feel the effects of the earth spinning instead of the skylight. 

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Turrell's quaker
 meeting skylight

            The documentary also shows an artwork that Turrell donated titled “The Skyspace” at a quaker meeting house in Houston, Texas. Here, the ceiling has a square space that can open aiding those gathering there to experience a tranquil moment together. 

Through all Turrell’s artworks you can experience light in truly meaningful forms that go beyond simply using the light as a source for us to see in darkness. The dive into light that his artworks show us is to help us understand where it is that we are in the universe. 

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