Jan 24, 2012

Stuck Red and Stuck Blue

I’m not normally totally turned upside down by a piece of art, but after recently seeing for the first time a James Turrell light installation I’m left in awe.  His piece Stuck Red and Stuck Blue, 1970, can be seen for just a short time more in San Diego.

From the above photo it look very simple in design so let me describe my experience. Entering a dedicated room, there was a red and blue panel of light. It appeared like a back-lit display, but approaching the red panel, I became hauntingly hypersensitive.  At one foot away, all my senses were firing, tying to figure out what was in front of me.  No reflection on the surface, no edge, no gimmick to define this luminescent volume.  I had previously read how he made these pieces, but could not believe it.  I put my hand out to touch it.  Expecting the museum alarm to go off, hand nervously shaking, it went right though the red.  Disbelief. After a few more seconds, my eyes began to adjust to the light so that I could see there was another room evenly light through this open ‘window’.

How rare is it that an artist challenges us on the most primal level of perception.  For those few moments where I didn’t know what “it” was,  there-in-lies the beauty and awe of the experience of not knowing.

This installation originally done over 40 years ago, has been rebuilt for a limited time.  See if for yourself at Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Closes February 5th.

PBS also has an excellent video of James Turrell and his work if you can’t catch the exhibit at MCASD.