The Museum was abuzz with the opening of James Turrell Perspectives, with guests intrigued while entering the new installation entitled St. Elmo’s Light. Over more than six decades he has pursued his fascination with the phenomena of light to create striking works that play with the perception and the effect of light within a created space.

Since 1974, Turrell has been converting a dormant volcano in Arizona, Roden Crater, into a monumental work of art. James Turrell Perspectivesis concurrent with the artist’s retrospectives at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

James Turrell Perspectives emphasizes the issues and ideas that have been at the core of Turrell’s work. The exhibition consists of four components, installed in four ground floor galleries in the Academy Art Museum, including a room of holograms, the site-specific light installation, a selection of photographs and plans and a set of bronze and plaster models related to the Roden Crater project in Arizona. Together these four parts will focus on Turrell’s fascination with both the mechanics of visual perception and the metaphysics of light. They will also introduce recurring themes in Turrell’s oeuvre related to geologic time and his efforts to give viewers a direct experience with the cosmos. Anke Van Wagenberg will provide curator-led tours on Friday, May 10, noon, Thursday, May 23 and Friday, June 7, 2013 at 12 noon. For further information, visit academyartmuseum.org or call 410-822-2787.

In photo: Pictured are Judy Stansbury, member of the AAM Board of Trustees, Percy North, and Anke Van Wagenberg, Curator of the Museum in front of a map image of Turrell’s Roden Crater. (Photo by Amy Blades Steward)