A Crane Forces the Closure of a James Turrell Installation

The presence of the structure in the overhead opening of the installation “Meeting” has forced the temporary closure of the space, which will reopen once the intrusive element disappears from the sky

The overhead opening of James Turrell’s work Meeting, with the crane visible at the lower edge. At artsy.net

Site-specific installations are living, changing art, works that may have an ephemeral duration or be meant to endure. The latter is the sense of the installation Meeting (1986), created by James Turrell at the MoMA in New York. The work, an empty room lit with shifting light, in which a square opening cut into the ceiling brings the presence of the sky into the installation itself, has been closed by order of the artist on a temporary basis. The reason has been the presence of an “intruder” that has significantly altered the piece: the jib of a crane, visible at the lower edge of the square opening. Its presence clearly interferes with Turrell’s intention of generating a chromatic, shifting form, created by visually framing part of the sky. The crane has been installed to raise a pair of luxury apartment towers in Long Island and will be removed when construction is finished.

Video of James Turrell’s installation Meeting at the MoMA in New York

Meeting is one of James Turrell’s most famous skyspaces, and the first the artist built in the United States. Since the 1980s, the work has invited visitors to the Museum of Modern Art in New York to gaze at the firmament through an unobstructed opening. In a recent refurbishment, the opening was surrounded with LED lights that gradually adapt to the position of the sun and the entry of natural light: the installation has a powerful spiritual and reflective sense, which is strongly compromised by the presence of the crane. The closure has been commented on and justified by the museum’s spokesperson, who reassured the media by noting that “the finished building will not be visible from the installation. We will reopen the work as soon as possible, the moment the crane disappears”. The towers are estimated to be finished in June 2019, when MoMA visitors will once again be able to enjoy James Turrell’s work without barriers or interruptions.

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