Desma09: Extra Credit Event Blog: James Turrell's "Breathing Light"

Exploring the perceptive beauty of light amidst the power of a space seemingly without dimensions, James Turrell’s exhibition “Breathing Light” at LACMA was a life-changingly beautiful experience from beginning to end. The exhibit’s starting point departed from the norm by immediately changing my relationship with light: all natural light was blocked from the Ganz auditorium, allowing for an artificial atmosphere within which only the artist could change your perception. From this point on, no photography or use of mobile technology was allowed to ensure the artist fully captured the use of light in the space – and capture this space he did. In a stunning of seemingly breathing colors and hues, the LED light permeated the very air we were breathing, bending the boundaries of the space and changing how I understood the power of light to change my concept of form, function, and boundary.

Perhaps the most stunning take-away from this exhibition was the way that the walls of the space seemed to just melt away as one approached the central chamber. No matter how hard I looked for an edge, I could not find one, and as the dimensions seemed to thin out and open into a vast empty space, the light seemed to fill the empty air like a viscous liquid, sloshing in a vibrant milieu of color and contrast.

This exhibit (which I visited a total of three times) deeply changed the way I perceive light’s ability to fill a space. I remain extremely interested in the work of James Turrell, and will keep a vigilant eye out for his work in the future!