infinite space light installation by doug wheeler
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'SA MI 75 DZ NY 12' by doug wheeler, 1975/2012
reinforced fiberglass, LED lights, high intensity flourescent lights, UV fluorescent lights, quartz halogen lights, DMX control in an architecturally modified space, composed of two parts
564 x 702 inches, in total
all images by tim nighswander of imaging4art, courtesy of david zwirner, © doug wheeler
doug wheeler: SA MI 75 DZ NY 12
david zwirner, new york city, USA
now until february 25th, 2012
santa fe, new mexico-based artist doug wheeler has created the interactive light installation 'SA MI 75 DZ NY 12' (1975 / 2012)
for david zwirner gallery in new york city. the massive luminescent sculpture is formed from reinforced fiberglass, LED lights,
high intensity flourescent lights, UV fluorescent lights, quartz halogen lights, and DMX control in order to develop an architecturally
modified space, composed of two parts. as the viewer becomes immersed in the sculptural space, light shifts gradually from white
to lavender. this 2012 infinity environment is reminiscent of the 1975 sculpture of the same name and measures 564 x 702 inches,
accounting for the two portions of the piece.
the atmospheric light installation possesses seemingly infinite depth-- the absence of space was manufactured through wheeler's
use of light and apparent lack of hard edges. the room is fitted with meticulously cut fiberglass walls; all corners are rounded and
painted with in such a way to enhance the complex lighting implement. the piece is intended to enhance the impact of light so that
the gallery goer may leave their experience in fabricated light environment with a profound understanding of spacial perception.
the resulting experience of the piece is one of the viewer's physical interaction with the lack of structure, rather than the materials
of the work itself.
though doug wheeler is considered to be one of the pioneers of minimalist light-and-space art, 'SA MI 75 DZ NY 12' will be his
first solo show in new york.
the light cycle shifts from a bright white to a cloudy lavender over 32-minutes
POPULAR TODAY ART
do you know James Turrel????
he did it milion years ago
Instantly ruined for everybody by everybody being there.
Doug Wheeler himself did this a million years ago, too (1975).
amorphous space rather than infinite, perhaps?
no he didn’t he was dooing rectangular neontubes on the walls…. i guess.
seems to me pretty much turrell like
Well, of course James Turrell ‘did it a million years ago’– they both did! Doug Wheeler and James Turrell were two of the founders of the Light and Space Movement of the 60′s. What is so amazing to me is that this seems to be the first time Wheeler was truly given a space through which to form a piece he first thought of in the 70′s! I only think it’s a shame that it took so long for Wheeler to be more widely recognized for what he is able to bring to a movement he helped to start…
I see we’re all more/less in agreement
Turrell did this a million years ago.
he wrote the book, & it’s a sacread one!
Not to mention after “a million years”
he’s still doing it on massive scale.
I hold a deep respect to James.
Jessica, thanks for putting this work into context. Of course James Turrel and Dog Wheeler both create amazing works. I’ve seen more of Turrel’s over the years (but nearly enough!) and wish I could see Doug Wheeler’s. He has had marginally more exposure in Europe and his work doesn’t lend itself to easy commercialization.
Regardless of who did it first or even who did it better, the Doug Wheeler installation is still amazing. And as for the crowd, it\’s definitely worth the wait!
Wheeler was making environments in 1965 when Turrell was just projecting light. And yes Wheeler was doing the plastic light paintings at the same time. Turrell copied Wheeler, including a 1969 work that Wheeler did at the Stedelijk. Look it up. It exists in the world. Wheeler was the first to use the Ganzfield effect and Turrell has dined out on it. Turrell, a Pasadena boy, co-opted Wheeler’s whole history–growing up in the AZ desert, flying, volcanos. In fact, they had been friends up until that, which is where Turrell got everything. Turrell is one of the world’s great self-promoters, and he reinvented his history, and in later years back-dated work that he made in the 1980s claiming he did it in his studio in the late sixties. Problem is, no other artist or dealer or museum curator from that time can verify this (because it didn’t happen). So X and turrellike, do your homework before making up stuff and presenting it as fact. And really look at the work by these artists, it is different.