Quotes from “Why Kanye West used a remote crater in the desert as the set for his new film”
By Patrick Sisson, Curbed.com
“Amid the many noteworthy and attention-grabbing aspects of West’s new album drop is the shooting location of the new promotional film—the Roden Crater. Currently under construction, the project designed by light artist James Turrell is less a work of art than a literal monument, at a scale that recalls the work of ancient kings and pharaohs.”
“Simply put, it’s a mile-and-a-half-wide crater in the desert near Flagstaff, Arizona, that’s being rebuilt by Turrell as a personal sky observatory that “will bring the light of the heavens down to earth, linking visitors with the celestial movements of planets, stars and distant galaxies,” according to his artistic statement. Needless to say, it’s a passion project, one that’s been in the works since 1977.
“It’s perhaps the most highly anticipated example of a genre of modern art known as Land Art, a movement born in the ’60s that literally cuts large-scale sculptural designs into the landscape. Turrell is sculpting a 600-foot-tall cylinder of earth and stone, a kind of large-scale telescope that will frame the sky’s changing light, a pursuit that’s taken decades and required large construction crews. In addition to the main work, there will be 20 or so additional viewing spaces and installations arranged throughout the site, including a water-filled chamber that reflects the sunrise and a space that will “allow visitors to see their shadow from the light of Jupiter.”
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