Acton by James Turrell

Check out Acton by James Turrell.


It's going to be hard to describe this one. Basically you walk into this room (with very dull lighting, and none of the lights pointed directly at the artwork) and in front of you there seems to be a giant ractangle piece of artwork hanging on the wall... and it's just one big gray color. Before I found the room, I had been told by the security guard at the museum that when I came into the room, I was supposed to put my arms out in front of me, and then speed-walk at the "painting" and try to touch it with my palms without slowing down.

Well, I did this, and much to my surprise, (and to the surprise of other people who did this after me) the giant rectangle was not a painting at all. In fact, it wasn't even hanging on the wall. It was actually a very well cut hole in the wall, leading into a room of similar size without any lights. The lack of lighting, which created a huge lack of depth, along with what little information you are provided with makes your brain piece together the rational idea of a regular art display, but in fact it turns out to be quite irrational. Of course, none of this clicks in your brain until you fall forward threw the "painting" and practically fall over the bottom ledge into the next room.

I'm not sure this was the artists intention of interactivity with the view, or if it was more of a joke by the security guard, but either way it was probably one of the coolest intermedia pieces I've ever interacted with.