james turrell discusses light in unreleased video footage from the designboom archives

james turrell’s lure to light began in the 1960s when, in the darkened hall of an art history class at pomona college, he observed a beam of light emerging from a slide projector. it was this moment that prompted him to ask ‘what if light wasn’t the tool that enabled people to see something else, but rather became the thing people look at?’. his journey into transforming the perception of light and space soon began — a theme that would come to trace the path of turrell’s life and work.

designboom met james turrell at ‘aten reign’, his monumental show at the guggenheim, new york in summer 2013, where we recorded our video (above). turrell delved into his interest in dichotomies — the material and the immaterial, inside and outside — and about ‘seeing with the eyes closed’. ‘[I’m very interested] in this idea of seeing light as we know it, but not as we see it very often with the eyes open — to have a full vision with the eyes closed in a dream with sometimes greater lucidity and greater resolution than with the eyes open,’ he shares. ‘this light is not unfamiliar to us. it’s just that we don’t often see it that way with our eyes open. I’m interested, in some way, in reminding us that we do have this other ‘seeing’. seeing with the eyes closed — that of the inside to outside.’

see the video at the top of the page, and discover 10 light and space works, including ‘aten reign’ at the guggenheim, by turrell below…

‘aten reign’ at the guggenheim, new york

aten reign, 2013 | daylight and LED light | dimensions variable © james turrell
installation view of james turrell, solomon r. guggenheim museum, new york, june 21–september 25, 2013
photo by david heald © solomon r. guggenheim foundation, new york
read more on designboom here

conceived for the guggenheim museum in new york, turrell’s presentation of ‘aten reign’ in 2013 recast the rotunda of the frank lloyd wright-designed building into an enormous illuminated void of shifting artificial and natural luminescence. the artist continued his in-depth exploration of the perception of light, color and space, re-imagining the central volume of the cultural institution as an immersive light-filled space. turrell dramatically transformed the museum by offering a dynamic perceptual experience through the modulation of color emitted through the round chamber.

‘light reignfall’ at LACMA, los angeles

designboom participated in the 15 minute interval, where the orb-like structure offered an immersive experience
screenshot courtesy of andrew van baal | read more on designboom here

‘light reignfall’ is a personal perceptual cell and spherical projection chamber that reveals the multidimensional power of light. presented at LACMA in 2017, designboom participated in the 15 minute interval where the enclosed orb-like structure offered an immersive experience. only for one viewer at a time, the work guided each participant to wear special headphones and lie down on a narrow bed, which eventually slid into a spherical chamber like an MRI machine. once inside, a sequence of saturated light (operated by a technician) enveloped the viewer, highlighting the multi-sensory power of light and the complexities of the human eye.

‘roden crater’ (ongoing), arizona

 

 

 

 

 

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‘roden crater’ is an unprecedented large-scale artwork created within a volcanic cinder cone in the painted desert region of northern arizona. the immersive project forms an environment for the experiencing and contemplation of light. minimally-invasive to the external natural surroundings, the red and black cinder has been internally transformed to feature engineered spaces, where the cycles of geologic and celestial time can be directly experienced. since acquiring the dormant cinder cone in 1977, turrell has fashioned ‘roden crater’ into a site containing tunnels and apertures that open onto pristine skies, capturing light directly from the sun in daylight, and the stars by night. as construction on ‘roden crater’ is ongoing, it remains closed to the public — when complete, the project will contain 24 viewing spaces and six tunnels.

‘twilight epiphany’ at rice university, texas

the sculpture interacts with the texan sun, as a sequence of programed LED lights dance across its ceiling
image courtesy of rice university | read more on designboom here

in 2012, rice university presented turrell’s ‘twilight epiphany’. the pyramid-like sculpture — architecturally devised by thomas phifer and partners with linbeck as the contractor — interacted with both the rising and setting texan sun, as a sequence of programed LED lights danced across the structure’s ceiling in sync with particular moments of light. the color of the sky was complimented by those set upon the underside of the structure’s roof — though the most powerful views were said to be seen only from the interior of the space. viewing areas were built into both the upper and lower segments of the structure, offering a perspective from both vantage points.

‘breathing light’ at LACMA, los angeles

breathing light, 2013 | LED light into space | dimensions variable
los angeles county museum of art, purchased with funds provided by kayne griffin corcoran and the kayne foundation (M.2013.1)
© james turrell | photo © florian holzherr (also main image)
read more on designboom here

as part of a retrospective at LACMA in 2014, turrell presented ‘breathing light’. one of the artist’s ganzfeld pieces — a german word to describe the phenomenon of the total loss of depth perception, as in the experience of a white-out — the installation was designed to entirely eliminate the viewer’s ability to perceive the distance and space around them.

‘passages of light’ at museo jumex, mexico city

‘squat blue’ from the ‘projection piece’ series, 1968 museo jumex, 2019 | la colección jumex, méxico © james turrell
image by florian holzherr | read more on designboom here

from 2019-2020, museo jumex in mexico city presented a monumental survey of turrell’s work. ‘passages of light’ spanned two floors of the institution’s galleries, and featured works from the artists most important series. each installation formed a carefully-controlled environment, in which light was formed and experienced, and saturated fields of color took on a physical presence. included were the ‘first light’ prints, which capture various forms made from light from turrell’s ‘projection pieces’ series. a turrell ‘projection’ is created by projecting a single, controlled beam of light from the opposing corner of the room.

‘gathas’ from the ‘curved elliptical glass’ series, 2019 | museo jumex, 2019 © james turrell
image by florian holzherr | read more on designboom here

further works included pieces that displayed the artist’s use of emerging technologies, including holograms. the installation ‘curved elliptical glass (gathas)’ was among turrell’s investigations, with its slow transformation of color likened by the artist to musical scores.

‘the color inside’ at UT austin, texas

photo by florian holzherr, courtesy of landmarks

‘the color inside’ is situated on the roof of the student activity center at the university of texas at austin. the installation invites the public into a luminous and ethereal environment. for the 25 viewers that can situate comfortably inside the white-plaster walls of the elliptical volume, a shifting sequence of sky, sun, and chromatic saturation becomes visible through a gaping void at the structure’s crown. the black basalt bench lining the reclining walls seat those who gaze upwards, where a morphing arrangement of pink, purple, white, green and yellow LED lights are unleashed onto the ceiling. as the sun sets and rises, the ever-transitioning display of hues seen through the circular aperture both dramatically contrast, and strikingly match the projected colors. the celestial and dynamic performance embodies turrell’s creative vision, as he has said, ‘I’ve always wanted to make a light that looks like the light you see in your dream’.

‘encounter’ at the botanical gardens of culiacan, mexico

the altered perspective intensifies the effect that the tonal range between dawn and dusk generates in awareness
image courtesy of savvy studio | read more on designboom here

the lush green botanical gardens of culiacan, mexico is home to turrell’s immersive work ‘encounter’ — the first public skyspace in latin america. the intimate observatory bears an elliptical shape, which visitors enter through a narrow aperture set within a grassy dome. once inside, an opening at the crown of the chamber allows viewers to experience the interaction between the evolving colors of the sky, and the changing, luminous hues projected on a circular orb surrounding. the altered perspective intensifies the effect that the tonal range between dawn and dusk innately generates in our conscience and human awareness.

‘sight unseen’ at villa panza, italy

image by simone bossi, courtesy of FAI villa e collezione panza
read more on designboom here

in december 2015, villa panza celebrated the ingenuity of two renowned american artists, robert irwin and james turrell, with an exhibition entitled ‘aisthesis – the origin of sensations‘. a total of 19 works — encompassing projections, installations and sensory environments — were integrated into the spaces of the italian villa-turned-gallery-space. two works created by irwin and turrell had been sited specifically for the exhibition: turrell’s ganzfeld ‘sight unseen’ and irwin’s ‘varese scrim’.