James Turrell

The video below by the Wolfsburg museum is a brief look at Turrell's work. They propose that Turrell's work has succeeded in separating light from its source, that his work is the end of a long line of artists who tried to liberate light from the canvas such as the impressionists.

From 1:14 onwards the video is a walkthrough of Turrell's Ganzfield piece which I experienced at the Venice Biennale. The photographs I took of the space are unable to describe it. The video is better but it fails to express that the space is not tranquil or calm in anyway. Walking to the edge of a room which is indiscernible from the rest of space and realizing there is a 'nothing' beyond it is not a good feeling. This infinity is disturbing - it is completely different from looking up at the night sky. It's an unforgettable experience, but at the same time I didn't want to spend more than five minutes there.

James Turrell 2011. Arsenale, Venice Biennale 2011.

Check out more about the artist James Turrell at Artsy.