James Turrell

Roden Crater, The Painted Desert, Northern Arizona

               

Aten Reign, 2013, Light Installation at the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum

James Turrell's medium is pure light.  He says "what is important to me is to create an experience of wordless thought."  His installation art such as the Roden Crater creates chambers, tunnels and pathways with openings to the outside light.  He cites the story of Plato's Cave to say that we are living in a reality of our own creation.  Each viewer uniquely experiences the physical presence of light and shadow.
Shifting natural and artificial light and color influence space at the Guggenheim Rotunda.   Perspective in the circular rotunda shifts as the viewer and the light move. As a child he was influenced by his grandmother who encouraged  him to go outside and greet the light.
Guggenheim.org & James Turrel.com