James Turrell : The Wolfsburg Project

James Turrell
Bridget’s Bardo
2009
Installation

The primary medium of Californian artist James Turrell is light. Probably the best-known artist in his field, Turrell’s entire oeuvre since the 1960s has been devoted to exploring the diverse manifestations of this immaterial medium and working towards a new, space-defining form of light art. While light here refers to nothing beyond itself, it causes surface, colour and space to interact and allows viewers to immerse themselves in a mysterious, painterly world. Occupying a central place in James Turrell’s oeuvre is the Roden Crater, an extinct volcano in the Arizona desert which the artist has been transforming into an observatory since 1974.

Building upon the cosmic aspects of this quiet, meditative place, Turrell is creating the worldwide largest museum installation he has made to date at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, producing a light-filled space of experience in the tradition of his Ganzfeld Pieces. Making full use of the adaptable architecture system of the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg – unique within the German museum landscape – his installation will be an exploration of space and light: immaterial and material at once. The timelessness and fascination of James Turrell’s works derives from his incredible skill at capturing fleeting light and giving it the visual presence and tactile density of a physical body.

[Extract : Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg]

James Turrell : The Wolfsburg Project

Puddle thinking

Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, “This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!”

This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything’s going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise.

I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.

(Douglas Adams)

2 Responses to “James Turrell : The Wolfsburg Project”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address

1 brancolina
July 16, 2010 at 3:36 am

one of my fav artists! last time I saw his works in Unna (Germany) in the world’s only museum dedicated strictly to the light art: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4827267,00.html

btw, do you know ann veronica janssens: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Veronica_Janssens? Some of her light art installations are related to Turrell’s work, she makes great stuff. Soon I’ll make a little post about her profile

James Turrell’s Tall Glass Half Full « The Art Machine Pingback on Aug 17th, 2010 at 3:51 pm

Azurebumble