Dear Shaded Viewers,
Years ago I wandered into Espace Fondation EDF in Paris and discovered the work of James Turrell. Turrell is known for his work with natural and colored light and a leader in environmental and installation art. Upstairs in the Espace EDF there was a room with an empty bench in front of a wall, there were no images or objects, just light and within a few minutes my perception was enhanced and it was as if a beam of light had tapped into some part of my brain and transported me to another dimension. The following year in San Francisco I experienced 'skyspace' Three Gems installation at the de Young Fine Arts Museum. You enter a round stupa through a door and sit on a stone bench that runs around the circumference of the skyspace and view the sky through an oculus cut in the roof of the chamber. Your perception of the sky color was subtly altered by an L.E.D. lighting system inside the chamber and by changing light and weather conditions outside the chamber. Another opportunity to experience James Turrell was at the home of James Goldstein where he had commissioned James Turrell to custom-build a skyspace. From a distance it looks like a mausoleum, you lay down on a mat and and the ceiling opens up and you have the magical illusion that the sky is within reach. This is just building up to the fact that even though next week I will only be in London for about 24 hours, I am determined to visit James Turrell's first solo exhibition at the Pace London which features two never-before-seen works from the Wide Glass series staged in site-designed chambers on the ground floor of the gallery. Each Wide Glass work is unique and features an aperture with a frosted and curved glass surface animated by an array of sophisticated LED lights. This is as close to meditation as I think I will ever be.
"I am really intersted in the qualities of one space sensing another. It is like looking at someone looking. Objectivity is gained by being once removed. As you plum a space with vision, it is possible to 'see your-self see'. This seeing, this plumbing, imbuses space with consciousness." James Turrell.
6 Burlington Gardens, London W1S3ET http://www.pacegallery.com.
All photos courtesy Pace Gallery.
Later,
Diane
