Gallery: Mad Genius Buys Volcano, Transforms It Into Naked-Eye Observatory
01Turrell-crater
James Turrell in front of Roden Crater, his monumental naked-eye observatory. “I’m very interested in how we perceive, because that’s how we construct the reality in which we live,” Turrell says, “and I like to tweak that a little bit. I make structures that arrest and apprehend light for our perception.” *Photo: Florian Holzherr*
Thomas R. DuBrock02Turrell - Site Plan Roden Crater
When Roden Crater features several viewing rooms, including one of Turrell’s grand Skypaces, and others for viewing specific celestial phenomena.
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A visit to one of Turrell’s site-specific Skyspaces, in which the color of the sky changes in contrast to light. “We all know that the sky is blue, but many of us don’t realize that we give the sky its blueness,” Turrell says. “And it’s only because we do that that I can change it.”
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A trip to Roden Crater, where Turrell reshaped the rim of the crater to give the sky a “vaulting effect.” Don't skip this one.
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An avid pilot, Turrell flew from Canada to Mexico, and from the Pacific Ocean to the Rockies in the 1970s looking for the right landform in which to build his observatory. *Photo: Florian Holzherr*
Linda Nelson Wells06Turrell - The Light Inside
*The Light Inside*, 1999. Turrell wants us to recognize what he calls “the thingness of light.” In his hands, it can appear to occupy space in our world through shapes. *Image: Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — © James Turrell / Photography © Florian Holzherr*
07Turrell - Rondo (Blue)
*Rondo (Blue)*, 1969. Turrell’s work is often said by viewers and critics to have a “spiritual” quality. *Image: Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — © James Turrell / Photography © Florian Holzherr*
08Turrell - End Around
*End Around*, 2006. Though we usually use light to illuminate things, Turrell is fascinated by our perceptions in very low light as well. *Image: Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — © James Turrell / Photography © Florian Holzherr*
Thomas R. DuBrock09Turrell - Acro, Green
*Acro, Green*, 1968. Much of Turrell’s early work involves three-dimensional geometric shapes that appear both substantial and ephemeral. *Image: Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — © James Turrell / Photography © Florian Holzherr*
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*Twilight Epiphany*, 2012. James Turrell’s new Skyspace at Rice University, in Houston, Texas. Turrell likes to say he can change the color of the sky entirely. When it’s seen through the small cutout in the roof and contrasts with varying colors projected inside, it appears to come down into the room imbibed with a beautifully foreign, inky black tint. *Photo: Florian Holzherr*
11raemar hot pink
*Raemar Pink White*, 1969. Set in dark spaces, many of Turrell’s works encourage time and reflection as your eyes adjust to the low light.
LACMA12M.2008.60
*Afrum (White)*, 1966. One of Turrell’s earliest works, this light cube appears to levitate, and changes shape as you move across the room.
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*Bridget’s Bardo*, 2009. Turrell’s Gansfelds are depthless gallery installations that surround the viewer in color. *Photo: Florian Holzherr*
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*Light Reinfall*. Turrell’s Perceptual Cells bombard the prone viewer with intense colors inside an enclosed structure to simulate what Turrell calls “behind-the-eye seeing.” Photo: Courtesy James Turrell
