James Turrell, Visiting Artist Lecture 1983

James Turrell gives a lecture at Skowhegan talking about his interdisciplinary practice which spans sculpture, installations and interventions with space. Turell says how he is interested in the ways in which the quality of life is something that inhabits the space itself. Turrell is specifically invested in exploring the hologram in his work: how it is something from which we can see form, life, the quality of life, and how light can be inhabited. Turrell goes on further to say how he is interested in a sense of knowing and plumbing a space with vision in a very sensual manner through light, and having light having a material quality where you can touch it, Turrell then shifts to thinking about his interest in working with spaces that are neutral, and also thinking about large volumes of space and how that shapes how we see space. Turrell tells the participants that he enjoys working with portions of space and light that can change forms. Turrell ends his lecture telling participants about another growing interest: dealing with learnt limitations and physical limitations; how we choose to decide what we don’t want to see.