A skyspace is an architectural design in which a room, which is painted in a neutral color has a large hole in its ceiling which opens directly to the sky. The room, whose perimeter has benches, allows observers to look at the sky in such a way as though it were framed. LED lights which surround the hole can change colors to affect the viewer's perception of the sky. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The design is the work of American artist James Turrell. As of 2013 over 82 skyspaces have been installed worldwide. [5] Examples include Dividing the Light at Pomona College, the Skyspace Lech in Vorarlberg (Austria), the Live Oak Friends Meeting in Houston, Texas and at Rice University, also in Houston.
Vorarlberg is the westernmost state of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest population density. Two thirds of the country are situated above 1,000m. It borders three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol, to the east.
Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland, England, surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest man-made woodland in England with three-quarters of its 250 square miles (650 km2) covered by forest. The majority of the forest lies within Kielder Water and Forest Park, with the southern tip known as Wark Forest lying within Northumberland National Park. The forest is next to the Anglo-Scottish border.
James Turrell is an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement. He is considered the "master of light" often creating art installations that mix natural light with artificial color through openings in ceilings thereby transforming internal spaces by ever shifting and changing color.
Lech am Arlberg is a mountain village and an exclusive ski resort in the Bludenz district in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, on the banks of the river Lech.
Kielder is a small, remote village in western Northumberland, England. Located at the head of Kielder Water and in the north west of Kielder Forest, the village is within three miles of the Scottish border.
The UIC Skyspace, officially titled Hard Scrabble Sky, is an art installation by James Turrell on the South Campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, located there since 2005. Hard Scrabble Sky is a Skyspace, part of a series of site-specific installations by Turrell that present a constrained view of the sky.
Kielder Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, England. The site is on Black Fell, overlooking Kielder Water near the Scottish border. It is accessible from James Turrell's Kielder Skyspace via a half-mile long forest track.
The Sheats–Goldstein Residence is a home designed and built between 1961 and 1963 by American architect John Lautner in the Beverly Crest neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, a short distance up the hill from the Beverly Hills city limit. The building was conceived from the inside out and built into the sandstone ledge of the hillside; a cave-like dwelling that opens to embrace nature and view. The house is an example of American Organic Architecture that derives its form as an extension of the natural environment and of the individual for whom it was built. Typical of Lautner's work, the project was approached from an idea and a structure was derived that addressed the challenges of the site.
The Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB) presents temporary exhibitions of international contemporary art in Bregenz, Vorarlberg (Austria).
Acton is an artwork created by American artist James Turrell in 1976, located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It consists of two rooms with an aperture between them, carefully illuminated such that the rectangular hole appears to be a flat, gray canvas until closer inspection reveals its three-dimensional nature.
The Museum SAN is located in Oak Valley, in the mountains of Wonju, South Korea. It was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and is under the administration of the Hansol Cultural Foundation. Ando said he designed the museum to express gratitude for the architecture and its beautiful natural environment. The museum, which is composed of a welcome center, flower garden, water garden, meditation hall, stone garden, main building, and James Turrell exhibition hall, focuses on the interaction of art and nature. Other facilities include a print shop, cafe, and museum shop.
Live Oak Friends Meeting House is a Quaker meeting house located at 1318 West 26th Street in the Heights area of Houston, Texas, United States. The meeting house, which was completed in December 2000, was designed and built to house the Live Oak Friends Meeting, which was formed in 1954. The building features a permanent installation by the artist James Turrell, known as the Skyspace or One Accord. It has been described as an architectural "idealization of Quaker testimonies like peace and equality."
The Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting is a monthly meeting (congregation) of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). First meeting in 1924, they were the first "United" monthly meeting, reconciling Philadelphia Quakers after the Hicksite/Orthodox schism of 1827. The original Meeting House, built in 1931, was located at 100 E. Mermaid Lane in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was replaced in 2012-2013 by the current meeting house, located at 20 E. Mermaid Lane, which incorporates a Skyspace designed by Quaker light artist James Turrell, the second such installation to be incorporated into a working religious space. The new Quaker meeting house is the first to be built in Philadelphia in eighty years.
Suzanne Deal Booth is an American art director, collector, philanthropist, and vintner. She has worked as an arts advisor and is the Founder and the Director of Friends of Heritage Preservation (FOHP).
The Skyspace Lech is a walk-in art installation by James Turrell in Tannegg/Oberlech in Vorarlberg (Austria).
Prometheus is a fresco by Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco depicting the Greek Titan Prometheus stealing fire from the heavens to give to humans. It was commissioned for Pomona College's Frary Dining Hall and completed in June 1930, becoming the first modern fresco in the United States. It has received widespread critical acclaim.
Dividing the Light, colloquially the Pomona College skyspace, is a 2007 skyspace art installation by James Turrell at Pomona College, his alma mater. It consists of a courtyard with a fountain nestled between two academic buildings with an illuminated canopy framing the sky above.
The Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, known colloquially as the Benton, is an art museum at Pomona College in Claremont, California. It was completed in 2020, replacing the Montgomery Art Gallery, which had been home to the Pomona College Museum of Art (PCMA) since 1958. It houses a collection of approximately 19,000 items, including Italian Renaissance panel paintings, indigenous American art and artifacts, and American and European prints, drawings, and photographs. The museum is free to the public.
Genesis is a mural by Italian-American painter and sculptor Rico Lebrun depicting the suffering that humankind experiences in the Book of Genesis. It was commissioned by Pomona College and completed in 1960. It is located on the south entrance of Frary Dining Hall.