James Turrell

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.

Turrell’s work is extremely apparent to the issues raised in my project. One example that is particularly useful is ‘Alta (white)’.



Alta is actually quite a simple projection, but is extremely effective. The light seems to form a solid and tangible object with great success, even more so than previous examples. Alta works so well because it is placed in a corner of a room, which allows for straight lines and rigid angles, opposed to the floaty and more translucent work of McCall. This also means that you can’t see through to the other side, which provides further solidity.

This is something that I want to be apparent in my work; the light must appear to be able to be touched. However, I want to add a level of interaction to the piece, allowing the user to be able to communicate with the piece, as if it a moving piece of material. This may produce a problem, as it will be hard to give moving light combined with smoke a solid form.