Thursday, July 04, 2019

Outstanding

James Turrell: Mors - Somnus (07) Medium Diamond Glass (image from here)
One work in the RA Summer Exhibition that was worth the visit alone for me was James Turrell's light piece in a quiet cool dim room. The diamond square of light changes colour ever so gradually, and not an even flat colour.  Subtle tones are spread across the whole square, radiating from its centre.  The square is set in a white wall, not black as shown above.  Except that it does not look white: as the colour changes in the square its subtleties are signalled first in what you apparently see of the opposing colours in the surrounding wall. Those of you who typed on the original word processors will remember that the bilious green text would conjure up red letters when looking away or shutting eyes. 

This piece of Turrell's - as so many of his - is extraordinary colour work.  This is where Mondrian was leading.  
This work was compulsive viewing, entrancing, thought-provoking, and so joyous.  This is an artist who makes me look at the world again and again, and think about what I am seeing. 

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