volcanic crater, 400,000 years old, is being transformed
by Turrell into a massive naked-eye observatory. Turrell
acquired the extinct crater in 1979, and intends it as a
site for viewing celestial phenomena. Over a thirty year
period Turrell has created tunnels, portals and apertures
for viewing the sky and the movements of the moon,
and work is ongoing, with several Skyspaces to be
constructed around the Crater.
In anticipation of Turrell's retrospective at the Guggenheim
Museum in New York, which will travel also to Los Angeles
and Houston, Pace Gallery at its 57th Street location
recently exhibited an installation entitled Roden Crater
and Autonomous Structures. The exhibition consisted
of models, photographs and designs. The models,
influenced by the ancient observatories of Angkor Wat
and Machu Picchu, are of freestanding "autonomous
structures" that allow the desert light to play along the
walls and floors of the space inside. Some are domed,
others are pyramidal.
Turrell's "autonomous structures" are beyond ambitious;
they are visionary interventions which will one day, one
hopes, be built around Roden, making of the site the
ultimate, wondrous meeting house for mortals and the
firmament. H
James Turrell at Pace Gallery
32 East 57th Street
New York NY 10022
Tel: 212.421.3292
Fax: 212.421.0835
HYLAND
