James Turrell at LACMA

James Turrell’s Light Reignfall is one of the artist’s Perceptual Cells—freestanding enclosed structures that provide an immersive experience for one viewer at a time. An individual wears special headphones and lies down on a narrow bed that slides into the spherical chamber; inside, a program of saturated light envelopes the viewer. The intense experience reveals the multidimensional power of light and the complexities of the human eye. Turrell’s use of light and space grew out of his interest in perception, a mainstay of perceptual psychology, his major at Pomona College in the early 1960s. It also reflects the strong influence of what has been called “the visual texture” of his native Southern California, particularly the bright and crisp sunlight, the open landscape, and the seascape to the west with its low horizon line. 

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