We took a drive to the Catskill Art Space in Livingston Manor this weekend to see James Turrell’s Avaar. The installation is essentially a pitch-black room, through which you navigate by feel, for minutes, until your eyes eventually adjust and a large canvas emerges from the darkness:
As visitors enter a seemingly pitch-black space, the eyes need several minutes to adjust before the aperture becomes apparent, looming first like a flat field, then seeming to open into a never-ending abyss of pure light. The artist has compared such works to how, shortly after you turn off a porch light, your vision can penetrate the night.
I recommend it, just perhaps warn any of your claustrophobic companions what they’re signing up for. My wife and I went in completely unprepared (blind, literally and otherwise).