Thank you a million times to my friend Larry Harris (who has his own fabulous website, who also loves Niki’s West, who doesn’t mind running around Elmwood with me, and who still owes me supper in Texas for Bama’s win in the National Championship — it all makes him a wonderful person) for telling me about the upcoming James Turrell project at Rice in Houston.
Maybe it’s because he knows I have a thing for (Indian) mounds, but Larry sent me this link which explains that James Turrell will be building one of his Skyspaces on top of a ceremonial mound, right there on campus.
Well, I’m a James Turrell fan.
Thanks to Marc0047 for use of this pic of the Skyspace at Pomona College, where Turrell attended college, under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Art21’s biography of him reads in part:
…born in Los Angeles in 1943…Turrell’s work involves explorations in light and space that speak to viewers without words, impacting the eye, body, and mind with the force of a spiritual awakening. “I want to create an atmosphere that can be consciously plumbed with seeing,” says the artist, “like the wordless thought that comes from looking in a fire.” Informed by his studies in perceptual psychology and optical illusions, Turrell’s work allows us to see ourselves “seeing.” Whether harnessing the light at sunset or transforming the glow of a television set into a fluctuating portal, Turrell’s art places viewers in a realm of pure experience.
…Influenced by his Quaker faith, which he characterizes as having a “straightforward, strict presentation of the sublime,” Turrell’s art prompts greater self-awareness through a similar discipline of silent contemplation, patience, and meditation. His ethereal installations enlist the common properties of light to communicate feelings of transcendence and the Divine. The recipient of several prestigious awards such as Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships, Turrell lives in Arizona.
Even better is this piece by the BBC of a Skyspace in a private residence (the sunset is just fun to watch) and the crater (crater!) that Turrell has been working on. I know, it’s 17 minutes, but it’s so good. Oh yes:
James Turrell – Goldstein Skyspace/Roden Crater Project from Rindermulch on Vimeo.