"Art Review: The Light Through James Turrell's Eyes" by Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times Art Critic
'James Turrell: A Retrospective' at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art captures the essence of the artist's spiritual connection to light and sight and gives insights on Roden Crater, his work in progress.
"James Turrell: A Retrospective" is a bit like a dinner party at which the guest of honor is absent. Family members and friends are there, plus lots of conversation about the one who's missing. But the primary impetus for the get-together couldn't make it.
The missing guest, of course, is Roden Crater — the much written-about volcano in the Northern Arizona desert that the artist has been converting into an elaborate, celestial observatory since he located the dramatic site more than 40 years ago.
The exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art includes extensive documentation of the ongoing project, in the form of models, drawings, plans, photographs and video. (A separate exhibition about Roden Crater is also at Kayne Griffin Corcoran Gallery.) When it might be completed is not known.