James Turrell at LACMA: A Must-See

"James Turrell: A Retrospective" at LACMA (Photo courtesy of LACMA)

I wish I could've taken pictures.

CC and I visited the James Turrell exhibit that's currently on view at LACMA (only until April 6!), and it was amazing. Amazing!

Turrell is a California-born artist who works with light and perception. His work is like nothing I've ever seen or experienced, and I wanted to take CC, too. After all, when you get the opportunity to see something truly magnificent, I believe involving your kids is a must -- as long as it's kid-friendly, of course.

CC and me at LACMA

The exhibit features light from different perspectives -- some works are projected shapes against a corner of a gallery, creating the illusion of depth. Some are immersive, and you literally walk into a dark, hazy room and observe a wall of colored light.

One of his exhibits, the Ganzfeld, is truly immersive. (I mistook it for a simple white room with a large magenta square on the wall. Boy, was I wrong.)

And that's where he experiments with perception. What you're seeing might not be what you think you're seeing at first.

For CC, it was admittedly less transformative. I mean, she is 7.

While I could tell that she was interested and enjoyed looking at the different expressions of light, she was quick to move to each next room. She did ask questions and point out the different shades of light. She also loved the holograms.

And while I was happy to just sit/stand and take in art work someone created that I never would have conceived of, CC was happy playing tag in the light posts or weaving her away through yellow tubes.

Yay, LACMA, for having those, too.

CC at LACMA