Event 1: James Turrell: A Retrospective at LACMA

James Turrell: A Retrospective at LACMA

I had the opportunity to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on October 14^th 2013. I specifically wanted to attend the exhibition by James Turrel which I had earlier learnt that it featured early geometric light projections, prints and drawings, installations exploring sensory deprivation and seemingly unmodulated fields of colored light, and recent two-dimensional work with holograms. In addition to that, I had learnt that the museum is largest art museum in western United States and that it has over 100,000 art collections from different regions of the world which are showcased through exhibitions, public programs, and research facilities.

This is Me!

My Ticket

The Museum’s Exterior

The Museum’s Interior

In this exhibition, James Turrell makes light the center of attraction. He gives light texture, weight and size thus making the viewers have a firsthand experience of what light really made of. The exhibition featured two installations, the first one referred to as Perceptual Cell and the second one called the dark Matters. The Perceptual Cell featured a spherical chamber in which an immersive light program takes place.

 Afrum White

Raemar Pink-White

Breathing Light

The exhibition also involve going through different rooms that were lit up in different lights and shapes of colors. In the first room, three suites of drawings and prints. Turrel shows how shading in grey, white and black shapes produces an illusion of a 3-D object on a flat surface. Another interesting gallery showcased the projection of white light into the corner of a dark room which produces a huge 3-D cube that floats in air and seems to rotate when one walks around it. Other exiting exhibition included Juke, Green, St. Elmo’s Breath, Key Lime and Raemar Pink White.

Example of 3D Images

The experience was so interesting and amazing. It was an experience out of this world and it showcases how artists use scientific concepts to come up with extra-ordinary work. I recommend a visit by anyone who wants to get a different perspective of light.