Last weekend I experienced one of the coolest outings of recent memory. Mister and I went to the L.A. County Museum of Art (LACMA) for their newest exhibit: James Turrell – A Retrospective. Turrell is an artist who works primarily with light and space. He’s been at this for a few decades, and he’s very good at what he does.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “Light? Come on,” then you’re not alone. I, too, was skeptical when I signed up to see this exhibit. And when I entered the museum space dedicated to Mr. Turrell’s work, I still had my suspicions. The first art encountered in the exhibit consists of drawings and photos. I wasn’t blown away, I admit. But then I moved into the next room, and I was drawn in. Each subsequent work affected me more and more. By the time I had gone through most of the retrospective, I was a fan. And then something wonderful happened.
Mister and I had signed up for Turrell’s “Perceptual Cell” experience. At an appointed time, we reported to the lab-coat clad operators and signed a waiver. After the formalities, the fun began. I stepped up on a raised platform, removed my shoes and lay down on the sphere’s bed. Instructions were given: if I needed to stop the experience (for any reason), I only had to press an emergency button and the machine would be shut down. Headphones were put into place and the operator slid the bed into the sphere and closed the opening so that the interior became a seamless shell. It felt as if I were floating in the middle of a giant orb. And then the program began.
Lights flashed before my eyes, while coordinated sounds streamed through the headphones. I didn’t know what to think, or how to feel. I just went with it, and my mind did the same. After a very short amount of time, geometric shapes began to appear around me. The lights continued to flash and the colors changed periodically. The sound was perfectly aligned with the lights. Personally, I not only saw shapes, I also saw scenes of distant lands. I recognized Greece and Egypt. But I can’t name anything else I saw. I reached my hand out, high above my face. The lights and the shapes continued around and over my hand. I relaxed. There were moments when I felt as if I was absorbing the light. And then the feeling switched and it felt as I was being absorbed by the light. I wish I could describe it better, but I simply can’t. When I thought about 4 minutes must have passed, the lights stopped flashing and the headphone’s sounds ceased as well. I felt the sphere’s bed begin to move and realized the operator had opened the machine’s door and was slowly rolling the bed out into the room. I had been in the sphere for a full 10 minutes.
A few weeks ago I watched a documentary about the world’s ancient cave paintings. No matter where these paintings were discovered – across all continents and some as old as 40,000 years – they often have something in common: geometric patterns. And though science long wondered how and why this common feature existed, the current theory is that the creators of these ancient paintings all entered their brains’ alpha states, triggering the shared experience of geometric visions, which they then painted. The documentary covered a lot more ground and it was fascinating. I couldn’t relate to that alpha state, but I still thought it was pretty danged cool.
Jump to my “Perceptual Cell” experience at LACMA. When I sat up after being rolled out of the sphere, the machine’s operator asked me a few questions. Did I feel alone? Yes, but I didn’t feel lonely. Did I see geometric shapes and patterns? Yes. To which she responded: The shapes and patterns weren’t projected by the machine. Apparently, everyone who goes on this ride has that same visual experience, as our brains are led into the alpha state.
I realize I’m giving a rudimentary rendering of this experience (at best), and I apologize for that. But please don’t let my base-level explanation keep you from this awesome exhibit. If you live in or near L.A., plan to go to LACMA for James Turrell – A Retrospective. And if you’re planning to visit Los Angeles, do the same. But be warned: “Perceptual Cell” is already booked solid through September of this year! The exhibit runs until April 6, 2014.
As for me, I’m glad Mister and I signed up for this experience. We had no idea what we were in for. And isn’t that true of life, generally? Yes. Yes it is.