James Turrell and The Magnificent Use of Color and Light - Part 2: The Roden Crater

/TWP
May 19, 2021
2 min read

In this second part I will be going through Turrell's most ambitious ongoing project, the Roden Crater. Located in the Painted Desert in Northern Arizona, the Roden Crater sets place out of a 400,000 year-old extinct volcanic cinder cone.

The artist has spent the last 45 years designing a series of tunnels and chambers inside to carve a celestial observatory and light exibhition. According to his website: Roden Crater is a gateway to observe light time and space. It represents the culmination of the artist's lifelong research on human visual and psychological perception. "Since acquiring the dormant cinder cone in 1977, Turrell has fashioned Roden Crater into a site containing tunnels and apertures that open onto pristine skies, capturing light directly from the sun in daylight hours, and the planets and stars at night. Indeed it is more akin to the communally developed sites of ancient Incas, than to the conceptions of any individual one can think of in modern times."

ALPHA EAST TUNNEL

EAST PORTAL

CRATER'S EYE & BOWL

The Roden Crater when completed will provide guests a observatory for celestial objects and events ranging from obscure and infrequent to the more familiar summer and winter solstice. He worked closely with astronomers and astrophysicists to calculate the perfect alignments and predictions for light refractions, visualizations and light streams.

“In this stage set of geologic time, I wanted to make spaces that engage celestial events in light so that the spaces perform a ‘music of the spheres’ in light.”

This fantastic project, have captured the interested and curiosity of many. In 2009, Kanye West donated $10 million and also shot his IMAX movie Jesus is King there. The movie allowed the viewers to have a look inside the crater and it was beyond majestic. And the Arizona State University also entered into a partnership promising to raise $200 million.

Here's an amazing interview and look on the Crater with the artist:

I'm absolutely in love with the Roden Crater, I lost the count on how many times I searched "Roden Crater opening dates" or went to https://rodencrater.com/ to get updates. I've been looking for to visit for years, ever since I read about it. In my opinion this installation is so massive, genius and unbelievably well thought. When completed, this will be something generations ahead will discuss and talk about how Turrell's vision was amazing and so ahead of its time.