Acton (Turrell)
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''Acton'' is an artwork created by
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
artist
James Turrell James Turrell (born May 6, 1943) 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 1976, located in the
Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, the Garden at Newfields and more. It is located at the corner of No ...
. 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.


Description

As a part of Turrell's Space Division Construction series, ''Acton'' consists of two distinct rooms of roughly equal sizes divided by a wall with a rectangular opening. The viewer enters the "sensing space," which is dimly illuminated by tungsten lights aimed at the walls. These low-light conditions lead them to first perceive the opening and the "viewing space" beyond it as a solid grey plane. However, time and closer examination reveal the true nature of the spaces. Security guards often facilitate this shift in perception by encouraging patrons to "touch" the "painting," going so far as to instruct them to speed walk toward it, making the moment of realization even more startling.


Acquisition

''Acton'' was acquired by the IMA in 1989 with the help of the Contemporary Art Society, the
National Endowment of the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...
, and friends of Sylvia Zazas. It is located in the Nagler Family Gallery and has the acquisition number 1989.111.


See also

*
Skyspace 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 ...
*
Roden Crater Roden Crater is a cinder cone type of volcanic cone from an extinct volcano, with a remaining interior volcanic crater. It is located approximately 50 miles northeast of the city of Flagstaff in northern Arizona, United States. Art project A ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acton Art installations in the Indianapolis Museum of Art Installation art works 1976 works American contemporary art Works by James Turrell