Kanye West gives James Turrell’s Roden Crater project $10m boost

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MassMoca
Since its initiation in 1977, artist James Turrell’s monumental Roden Crater project has received sporadic funding from various sources, yet remains unfinished.

 

After an “art pilgrimage” to the project site in the Painted Desert region of Arizona on December 11, rapper Kanye West expressed his awe of the project via Twitter, writing “This is life changing. We all will live in Turrell spaces.” Days later, West returned to the Crater with his team to photograph the project, which defines itself as “a controlled environment for the experiencing and contemplation of light”.

 

 

Roden Crater. Photo: James Turrell.

 

 

Later in December, West’s $10m donation was clinched during a visit by Turrell and the rapper to “Into the Light”, a major Turrell exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art; here, West told the artist, “You finally got me here, bro”.

 

The gift follows the announcement of a new master-plan for the project in partnership with Arizona State University, which will require $200m of funding and seeks to develop a creative and scientific community around the Crater. So far, $40m has been raised towards the target. More information available via the Wall Street Journal.

 

 

Katy Cross