The Skyspace is accessible to the public. Reservations are not required. Please social distance and wear a mask when others are present.
The lighting programs are keyed to sunset and sunrise. The evening program begins about 25 minutes before sunset and continues for approximately one hour. The sunrise lighting program begins 100 minutes before sunrise. Between the sunset and sunrise programs the canopy of the Skyspace is illuminated. Every hour on the hour, there is a brief (3 minute) chime of light. Specific sunrise and sunset times are available for the Los Angeles area.
When
The public is invited to visit Dividing the Light anytime. For groups of 10 or more, please contact the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College at benton@pomona.edu or (909) 621-8283. Please note that food and drink are not permitted in the Skyspace. We ask that you respect the space and the quiet enjoyment of other visitors.
Where
The Skyspace is located in the Draper Courtyard, Lincoln and Edmunds Buildings, Pomona College (corner of 6th & College Way), Claremont.
The Los Angeles area Metrolink serves the city of Claremont with a station two blocks from the campus. Once at the Metrolink station, walk six blocks north on College Avenue to 6th Street. Turn right and travel one long block to College Way. The Skyspace is in the Draper Courtyard on the Lincoln and Edmunds buildings at the corner of 6th Street and College Way. Call Metrolink at (800) 371-LINK for a schedule or visit the Metrolink website.
About the Skyspace
Dividing the Light, a Skyspace by James Turrell '65, is perhaps the most glowing example of public art on the Pomona College campus. Opened in fall of 2007, the architectural installation heightens the viewer's awareness of light, sky and the activity of perception.
Called “one of the best works of public art in recent memory” by the Los Angeles Times, Dividing the Light gathers visitors on benches beneath a canopy that frames a window to the sky. At dusk and dawn a lighting program bathes the canopy in changing colors, from goldenrod to turquoise, altering the viewer’s perception of the sky. One moment it’s a dreamy lavender, another it’s an ominous tablet of black. A shallow pool centered beneath the opening to the sky mirrors the daytime sky and reflects a dark echo of the night sky.
Turrell, known for his work in light, has built several Skyspaces around the world; this is the only one available for public viewing in Southern California.
Related Exhibition
In honor of the installation of the Skyspace in 2007, the Pomona College Museum of Art presented James Turrell at Pomona College, an exhibition that included End Around, one of the artist’s Ganzfeld works; two LED Tall Glass works from 2006, Gathered Light and Silent Leading; and a selection of models and drawings.