Turning Towards Turrell: Finding Light in Las Vegas
By Brian Nixon, Special to ASSIST News Service
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (ANS – October 13, 2016)
-- For many people, Las Vegas is akin to Sodom -- the city of sin --
discussed in the Book of Genesis. Sodom was where Lot’s wife morphed
into pillar of salt when she turned to watch the metropolis burn. On the
surface, the comparisons between the two cities seem fair. Yet on a
recent stop in Las Vegas, I found that there is light in the darkness,
solace in midst of sin. And the light and solace was art.
During
my short visit to Las Vegas, my eyes were not set on the seedy parts of
the city, but upon art settled in places of silent positioning. And
rather than tuning in to the temptation, I turned to the artist, James
Turrell, whose work is permanently displayed -- of all places -- in a
mall adjacent to the hotel Aria.
For
those not familiar with Mr. Turrell (b. 1943) a short word is in store.
Turrell is one of the leading visual artists living today, receiving
countless awards throughout his storied artistic career. As a Quaker,
Turrell has spent his life pursing Light (the main medium he uses in
most of his artwork). According to Quaker Artist [1], “Turrell
has produced over 120 one-man shows and taken part in over 115 group
exhibitions on virtually every continent. He’s been awarded numerous
honors, including the Legion of Honor, a MacArthur Foundation
Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Several books, likeLong
Greenand many articles, as in Time have been written about him. He appeared as the final artist in the BBC documentary American Visions.”
Let’s
just stop here and ponder this for a moment: A Quaker-Christian artist
contributing beauty to the City of Sin? Yep. It’s true. The darkness may
be deep, but light will help penetrate the night.
Continuing,
the article states, “Turrell attends the Flagstaff (AZ) Meeting. He
designed the Houston Meeting House... Turrell was raised a Conservative
Friend in California…It’s remarkable that an artist of his caliber
should emerge from this background.”
Recently, Turrell has been working on his massive Roden Crater monument outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. It may be his Magnus Opus:
a land-art piece in a dormant cinder cone volcano so large in scope
that it rivals any major monument found throughout the world [2]. One
could summarize Turrell’s work as a means to draw people to the light --
in sense, perception, and impression.
It was the light I was seeking in Vegas, not the lure of a wayward lifestyle. And Turrell helped brighten the night.
To
help me locate the work of Turrell, my friend, Las Vegas resident, and
fellow artist, Jeff Lefever, gave my son and I the grand tour of
artistic hot spots on the strip (and there are many). Our first stop was
the Turrell.
As
I walked into the mall where the Turrell is exhibited, I stopped at a
distance to view four geometrically shaped motifs. To someone not
familiar with Turrell, the artwork would appear as holes cut into the
mall wall exuding color (which it is). But a small plaque at the base of
the exhibit tells otherwise. The plaque reminds us that the holes are
light-art with a name: Shards of Color, 2013.
At
our time of arrival, the color was blue. But as I stood and watched for
a few moments, the colors gradually changed, pink, reddish, and purple.
The whole experience helped transform the mall into a place of wonder.
We
then took an elevator up to the third floor to interact with the art.
MGM Hotels (who own the mall) were kind enough to encourage people to
walk behind the artwork into small portal rooms to watch the color
transform and change. On the way up the elevator there was another of
Turrell’s work, a light window changing colors. We ended up taking the
elevator a couple of time to see the work in action.
When
we arrived in the small portals, we stood in the room taking in the
shifting color of light. I studied the shape of the windows, following
the curvature of the light source with my hand. Jeff and I talked about
the complexity of Turrell’s work while my son, Cailan, snapped
photographs. Jeff pointed out how the changing light created a color
matrix with lighting from the mall. A refined renovation of light hung
on walls, subtle, but present and stunning.
Who’d
ever thought that in the midst of a mall dedicated to capitalism -- and
what many deem an incorrigible lifestyle -- that beauty abounds.
The
whole experience reminded me of what Jesus told his disciples in
Matthew 5:14: “You are the light of the world.” Light penetrates the
darkness -- just like the beauty of Turrell’s art did in the mall. Shards of Color
was more than changing colors in a building; it became a metaphor of
meaning for me, a symbol of how Christians are to reflect and be light.
And even in places that lure people with temptation like Las Vegas,
Christians must remind ourselves that we are agents of love and light.
It just so happened that on my drive home from Las Vegas my son was playing a song by Mikky Ekko entitled, Made of Light. The song was a perfect representation of what Turrell did with his art. Ekko sings,
“When you're livin' on this track
And you have nothing left to give
And the stars have lost their shine
I will, I will burn for you
When the darkness comes
To try and steal your pride
Don't lose hope, you tell them
We are, we are made of light”
And you have nothing left to give
And the stars have lost their shine
I will, I will burn for you
When the darkness comes
To try and steal your pride
Don't lose hope, you tell them
We are, we are made of light”
As God’s masterpiece (see Ephesians 2:10: poiema
in Greek, a word used for poetry or workmanship) -- Christians are
God’s artwork. We are little poems of light shinning in the darkness,
reflecting Him who is the Light. We are, as James Turrell reminds us, to
“treasure light,” letting God’s light working in us to “be the
revelation.”
And
what I learned in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas (as the motto on the TV
commercials states, “What Happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”). Instead,
I’ll proclaim: We are made of His light. Let it shine!
Photo
captions: 1) James Turrell. 2) Shards of Color, 2013. Mixed Media. 3)
Shades of Color and Cailan. 4) Shades of Color, 2013. Pink. 5) Brian
Nixon.
About
the writer: Brian Nixon is a writer, musician, and minister. He's a
graduate of California State University, Stanislaus (BA) and is a Fellow
at Oxford Graduate School (D.Phil.). To learn more, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Nixon.
Note: If you would like to help support the ASSIST News Service at this vital time in world history, please go to www.assistnews.net and
click on the DONATE TO ASSIST NEWS button to make your tax-deductible
gift (in the US), which will help us continue to bring you these
important stories. If you prefer a check, please make it out to ASSIST
and mail it to: PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA. Thank you.
** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).
Please also tell your friends and colleagues that they can receive a
complimentary subscription to ANS by going to the above website and
signing up there.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar