James Turrell Quotes

James Turrell
American Artist
Born: May 6, 1943
Art Light Looking People Work You
Related authors: Andy Warhol Jackson Pollock Jean-Michel Basquiat Jeff Koons Kehinde Wiley Keith Haring Yoko Ono
You can't stop demographics. And show me a fence that ever worked. It didn't work at Hadrian's Wall. The Great Wall of China didn't work. The Berlin Wall. James Turrell
Work Great Me You Berlin Wall Berlin Great Wall Demographics Fence Wall Stop China Worked Show Ever
In age of consumerism and materialism, I traffic in blue sky and colored air. James Turrell
Age Sky Air Colored Consumerism Materialism Traffic Blue Blue Sky
We're made for the light of a cave and for twilight. Twilight is the time we see best. When we dim the light down, and the pupil opens, feeling comes out of the eye like touch. Then you really can feel colour, and experience it. James Turrell
Time Best You Experience Light Made Feeling Down Dim Eye Out Pupil See Touch Colour Feel Like Opens Cave Then Really Twilight
Generally, we use light to illuminate other things. I like the thingness, the materiality of light itself. So it feels like it's occupying the space, making a plane, being something that was there, not just passing through. Because light is just passing through. I make these spaces that seem to arrest it for our perception. James Turrell
Light Space Perception Other Our Seem Something Through Generally Feels Like Make Because Occupying Making Arrest Passing Itself Just Being Spaces Plane Use Illuminate Things
I live in the sky as a pilot, so it has great meaning to me. James Turrell
Great Me Pilot Sky Live Meaning
I like to use light as a material, but my medium is actually perception. I want you to sense yourself sensing - to see yourself seeing. James Turrell
You Yourself Light Perception Sense Medium See Seeing Like Material Want Sensing Use Actually
I am interested in relating the things we see with the things we see with our eyes closed. James Turrell
Eyes Closed Relating Our See Am Interested Things
My art has no object, no image, no point of focus. James Turrell
Art Focus Object No Point Point Image
All art is contemporary art because it had to be made when it was now. James Turrell
Art Made Had Contemporary Contemporary Art Because Now
I've always been interested in arrival, and coming to a space, and even to looking back at where you were. James Turrell
You Space Looking Looking Back Back Always Coming Arrival Were Been Where Interested Even
We have spent billions to go to the moon - we go to this lesser satellite called the moon and say we are in space, but we are in space right now; we just don't feel ourselves to be in space. Some forms of art and some forms of spirituality do give us that sense. James Turrell
Art Space Moon Spirituality Sense Say Spent Ourselves Some Give Feel Go Just Forms To The Moon Us Lesser Billions Satellite Now Right
Light is a powerful substance. We have a primal connection to it. But, for something so powerful, situations for its felt presence are fragile. James Turrell
Light Something Primal Powerful Felt Situations Substance Connection Presence Fragile
At Roden Crater, I was interested in taking the cultural artifice of art out into the natural surround. I wanted the work to be enfolded in nature in such a way that light from the sun, moon and stars empowered the spaces. I wanted to bring culture to the natural surround as if one was designing a garden. James Turrell
Work Art Nature Garden Culture Natural Light Moon Stars Way Sun Out Taking Empowered Cultural Surround Artifice Wanted Spaces Interested Such A Way Bring Designing
This idea that light plays an important part in our life is important to me. James Turrell
Life Me Light Important Our Part Idea Important Part Plays
If you're not an optimist, forget being an artist. James Turrell
You Optimist Forget Artist Being
I know that science is very interested in answers, and I'm just happy with a good question. James Turrell
Good Science Happy Know Answers Question Very Just Interested
We think we receive all that we perceive, but in fact, we actually give the sky its colour. James Turrell
Sky Think Perceive Give Fact Colour In Fact Actually Receive
We live within this reality we create, and we're quite unaware of how we create the reality. James Turrell
Reality Live Unaware Within How Quite Create
In Arizona, we're at 7,000 feet, so we're above half of the world's atmosphere. It's crisp but hard, a side-raking light that can be revealing but doesn't have the softness that maritime air has. James Turrell
World Light Half Maritime Softness Air Crisp Atmosphere Above Arizona Feet Revealing Hard
It is only when light is reduced that the pupil opens and feeling goes out of the eyes like touch. James Turrell
Eyes Light Feeling Out Pupil Touch Only Like Opens Reduced Goes
I like illusion when it is so convincing that we might as well see reality this way - I like to present to our belief system something that is convincing, that 'we know not to be.' James Turrell
Reality Illusion Our Way System See Something Like Know Well Might Convincing Belief Present
I feel my work is made for one being, one individual. You could say that's me, but that's not really true. It's for an idealized viewer. James Turrell
Work Me You Made Say Could Individual True Feel Idealized Being Really Viewer
I like to work with it so that you feel it physically, so you feel the presence of light inhabiting a space. My desire is to set up a situation to which I take you and let you see. It becomes your experience. James Turrell
Work You Experience Light Space Situation See Physically Take Feel Like Becomes Up Which Inhabiting Your Presence Desire Set
I come from a family that does not believe in art to this day. They think art is vanity. James Turrell
Art Day Family Believe Think Vanity Come Does
My mother did not have a toaster oven and would toast bread in the oven, which I thought was stupid. They didn't do cars and electricity, that kind of stuff. James Turrell
Mother Car Thought Stupid Kind Would Stuff Oven Did Bread Which Toast Toaster Electricity
I want to create an atmosphere that can be consciously plumbed with seeing... like the wordless thought that comes from looking in a fire. James Turrell
Thought Fire Looking Seeing Atmosphere Like Want Create
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