Light and space

Light and space

Origin: 1960s in Southern California
Pioneers: Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Larry Bell, DeWain Valentine, Doug Wheeler, Peter Alexander
Related Movements: Kinetic Art, Minimalism, Op Art

Light and Space denotes a loosely affiliated art movement related to Op Art (optical art), Minimalism and Geometric Abstraction originating in Southern California in the 1960s and influenced by John McLaughlin. It is characterized by a focus on perceptual phenomena, such as light, volume and scale, and the use of materials such as glass, neon, fluorescent lights, resin and cast acrylic, often forming installations conditioned by the work's surroundings. Whether by directing the flow of natural light, embedding artificial light within objects or architecture, or by playing with light through the use of transparent, translucent or reflective materials, Light and Space artists make the spectator's experience of light and other sensory phenomena under specific conditions the focus of their work. From the movement's inception, artists were incorporating into their work the latest technologies of the Southern California-based engineering and aerospace industries to develop sensuous, light-filled objects. Turrell, who has spread the movement worldwide, summed up its philosophy in saying, "We eat light, drink it in through our skins."

The nature of the works was reflected in the title of the exhibition at UCLA which introduced the emerging movement in 1971: "Transparency, Reflection, Light, Space: Four Artists".

The show presented the work of Peter Alexander, Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Laddie John Dill, and Craig Kauffman. Other artists associated with the movement are Roz Stroll, Ron Cooper, Mary Corse, Fred Eversley, John McCracken, Bruce Nauman, Maria Nordman, Eric Orr, Helen Pashgian, Joe Ray, James Turrell, DeWain Valentine, Doug Wheeler and Elyn Zimmerman. Late artists Mel and Dorothy Tanner began their light and space art in the 1960s, unaware of the movement in California. A famous group of abstract color theory artists were influenced by the Light and Space Movement, notably: Frederick Spratt, Phil Sims, Anne Appleby, and David Simpson. The legacy of the Light and Space movement can be seen in the work of important contemporary artists, such as Casper Brindle, Olafur Eliasson, Brigitte Kowanz, Ann Veronica Janssens, Jennifer Steinkamp, Kaloust Guedel, Phillip K. Smith III, Nellie King Solomon, and Gisela Colon...


Source: Wikipedia, © James Turrell, photo credit: Tiffany