Inflatable planetarium dome, 4K projection system, 4-channel surround sound audio system.

Spring 2019 Course: Curating Stories and Science in Northern Arizona (taught by Daniel Collins)

In the seminar Curating Stories and Science in Northern Arizona, students worked individually and collectively to create a “research compendium” inspired by James Turrell’s Roden Crater. Marked by the intersection of science and art, our discussions included experts from astrophysics, literature, sacred architecture, natural history, cultural geography, Native American studies, perceptual psychology, phenomenology, archaeology, and fine art.  Students generated a rich collection of works representing many disciplines and methodological approaches.  Roden Crater has become a launching pad for our own embodied experience of place—from the microscopic features of the Arizona landscape to interstellar space.

Seeds, soil

Spring 2019 Course: Curating Stories and Science in Northern Arizona (taught by Daniel Collins)

In the seminar Curating Stories and Science in Northern Arizona, students worked individually and collectively to create a “research compendium” inspired by James Turrell’s Roden Crater. Marked by the intersection of science and art, our discussions included experts from astrophysics, literature, sacred architecture, natural history, cultural geography, Native American studies, perceptual psychology, phenomenology, archaeology, and fine art.  Students generated a rich collection of works representing many disciplines and methodological approaches.  Roden Crater has become a launching pad for our own embodied experience of place—from the microscopic features of the Arizona landscape to interstellar space.

Laser printing on various papers, wire-o bound.

Spring 2019 Course: Approaches, to Light (Taught by Edward Finn)

Approaches to Light traced the fundamental questions of James Turrell’s work to their origins in philosophy, literature, physics, and art. By engaging with light as a medium for human imagination, we explored the ways in which we make meaning from the physical universe and the aesthetic frames we impose on it. Students created their own artistic expressions of light, landscape, and imagination in the form of physical artifacts, audiovisual experiences, and other vessels of meaning that responded to the work of Turrell and Roden Crater.

Gator board, LED lights.

Spring 2019 Course: Approaches, to Light (Taught by Edward Finn)

Approaches to Light traced the fundamental questions of James Turrell’s work to their origins in philosophy, literature, physics, and art. By engaging with light as a medium for human imagination, we explored the ways in which we make meaning from the physical universe and the aesthetic frames we impose on it. Students created their own artistic expressions of light, landscape, and imagination in the form of physical artifacts, audiovisual experiences, and other vessels of meaning that responded to the work of Turrell and Roden Crater.

Wood, mirror.

Spring 2019 Course: Art and Sensory Acuity (taught by Christine Lee)

For the course Art and Sensory Acuity, we looked at how our perception and ability to experience a range of sensation can inform the creation of artistic and design based work. We explored perception through the lens of artist James Turrell’s Roden Crater, under which specific materials, environment, and conditions present, shaped our sensory experience. Concurrently we expanded our sensory acuity through engagement with guest speakers ASU Assoc. Professor Patrick Young and Assist. Professor Christy Spackman, Ed Krupp Director of Griffith Observatory, and writer Lawrence Weschler, to develop a deeper sensibility across media, time and space. The resulting sculptural forms/prototypes, performance, and installations were designed and constructed in response to the collective experience.