Coconino

James Turrell (Los Angeles, USA, 1943)
Commissioned by: private commission

To the left of the main entrance of the Amandolier building, an opening in the wall provides access to an unusual artistic experience: in an enclosed space, a luminous installation offers total immersion in a colored space with blurred contours. This is a work by the American artist James Turrell, who has spent forty years working with light, that fleeting, intangible material, usually apprehended in a space carefully chosen and prepared by the artist. His immersive works of art offer unique conditions to observe light and its effects as closely as possible. Coconino – named after the Arizona County where Turrell dug the Roden Crater, an extinguished volcano that he has been developing for years in order to provide views of the daytime and nighttime sky under ideal conditions – is visited in slippers, in silence if possible, alone or with others. Inside, neon tubes inserted in the floor and ceiling diffuse a bluish light that envelops viewers, giving them a sensory experience conducive to contemplation. The boundaries of the space dissolve under the effect of the colored atmosphere, and the momentary abolition of spatial bearings makes the visit unsettling: visitors get the feeling they are being absorbed by the luminous environment, taken on a journey outside of time.
Article commissioned by P3Art
Notice: Séverine Fromaigeat, translation: Matthew Cunningham  

Visitors are allowed by appointment only, during office hours, at a time arranged beforehand by phone: 058 450 70 00. An identity card will be required. The piece may be viewed in slippers only, available on site.