Tuesday, July 12, 2005 | 8:22 a.m.
That a James Turrell projection work is on display at the downtown contemporary art gallery, Godt-Cleary Projects, is another sign that Las Vegas is not the city it was 10 years ago.
Not only is Turrell one of the biggest names in contemporary art, he has received Guggehnheim and MacArthur Fellowships and his works are in collections all over the world.
This fall Albion Gallery in London is presenting a solo exhibition of his 1967-1969 projection works. This week Pace Wildenstein in New York City is opening a Turrell exhibit. And through September you can see one of his pieces at Godt-Cleary Projects.
"Turrell has a huge renaissance right now," said Michele Quinn, director of the gallery at 1217 S. Main Street. "And this is the first Turrell to be displayed in Nevada."
Looking at "Gard Red," a cross-corner projection piece, Quinn said, "Turrell is a genius. He really knows how to manipulate a space."
Turrell's minimalist piece and John McCracken's "Dimension" are the only works on display in the 2,500-square-foot gallery space. McCracken's red, glossy polished monolith stands center near the entrance of the gallery, casting shadows in the otherwise empty room.
Turrell's reddish projection is a triangle-shaped optical illusion in the corner of the cement-floored, white-walled back room.
"They really complement each other," said Heather Harmon, curator of the Patricia Faure Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif., who drove from Los Angeles to see the works. "I came here with two artists who absolutely idolize both artists. We took the day off. McCracken and Turrell are both monumental artists. Even though there are only two pieces, they're worth the drive."
But as the exhibit opened at this month's First Friday, crowds were strolling in and out of the gallery at a breakneck pace, which is sometimes common when you mix general audiences and minimalist art.
"They do the I don't get it thing' and walk off, which always saddens me," said Andrew Geddes, a school teacher in the Clark County School District. "Too much of the time works like these are avoided and people don't get it, aren't willing to pay a lot of attention to it.
"There isn't a lot to get. Take a look at it. Relax. It's art."
Geddes, who moved to Las Vegas one year ago and teaches kindergarten through fifth grade, is a Turrell fan who saw a large showing of the artist's work at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh nearly two years ago.
"I really like his work," Geddes said. "Especially juxtaposed against McCracken's piece. I'm kind of a fan of minimalism. It's really powerful." With Turrell's work, he said, "You can concentrate on light in just one space."
Turrell, who is now in his 60s, began his projection works four decades ago. Before studying art as a graduate student, he was an undergraduate student studying perceptual psychology and math. His sky spaces, chambers that incorporate architecture, natural and created light, allow visitors a new opportunity to observe the sky.
His biggest project, however, is the Roden Crater, a volcano on the edge of the Painted Desert, 45 miles outside Flagstaff, Ariz., which Turrell is altering with tunnels and craters to create a unique experience for viewing the sky.
"Gard Red" was made in 1968 and was one of his original projection pieces. It appears solid, alive and changing in color, from red to pink to fluorescent orange to pink again.
"As you look at it for a while it will change," Quinn said. "There's an amazing transformation of space. It comes alive. It absorbs you. People need to learn to open themselves up to a more ethereal experience, which 90 percent of the population doesn't do."
His work, she said, "It's about the idea of how we perceive things. Your eyes are trained to see one way and they see another way. Here, we are looking at what is a three-dimensional object when it is actually a projection."
But, Quinn said, "It's a challenge for Las Vegas to look at. Everybody (who) walks in, walks right out."
Usually, she explained, visitors think the gallery is closed because of the exposed cement floor and the lack of clutter.
"They're really going to think we're closed now."
Geddess, who has introduced minimalist work to his students, said minimalist art often gets a bad rap, especially in Las Vegas where, he said, "a lot of things that people look at are things that they directly relate to it, rather than ask, 'Why did that artist use that color? Why did the artist use that space?' "
Libby Lumpkin, art critic, author and executive director of Las Vegas Art Museum, said that the exhibit at Godt-Cleary Projects makes a statement about where Las Vegas is culturally.
"It's a great show," Lumpkin said. "It makes a nice contrast, a thoughtful contrast, to the city.
"We need to recognize that we are a sophisticated city. There are plenty of people who crave that art, that level of sophistication, who have, in the past, had to travel to see it."
Harmon, who was born in Las Vegas and moved away more than three years ago, said that she never thought she'd see a Turrell here.
"Never," Harmon said. "And I'm so delighted. It's wonderful."
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