Internationally acclaimed artist James Turrell came to Cornell Nov. 12 to discuss his work with unusual media: light and space.

During a lecture and slide show in a full Alice Statler Auditorium, Turrell described his artistic trajectory, from becoming "preoccupied with light" at age 2 to spending the last 30 years transforming an extinct volcano into a work of art.

As a young art student, he began to work with light as a material and started to realize how subtly and dramatically a physical space could be changed by manipulating the light.

"When you stare at light, you're not thinking in words. It's something else. The feeling, the power, comes from an overall sense," Turrell said. "And when you find the right balance between the amount and quality of light and the volume of space, the light takes on a physicality almost like a fog or a 'glassing up.'"

Over the years, Turrell has honed this effect so well that he was once sued by a museum patron who fell into one of his exhibits. "Her testimony was that I had created a blue wall, but when she leaned against the blue wall, it wasn't there. It was made of light," he said with a laugh.

Through his creations, Turrell explained, he's looking to capture the feeling of the world that is "just beyond" and one that you need to "look into" and not just "at." His vision is to add an extension to reality that will help people see that "this is not a rational world, but a rationalizing world."

His "skyspaces" -- freestanding, enclosed pieces that focus a viewer's attention on light from the sky and enhance the human experience within nature -- led to a move out of galleries and into architecture and construction. Since 1972 he has worked on the ultimate skyspace in Arizona's Painted Desert: Roden Crater, a work called one of the most important cultural undertakings of this generation. Slated for completion in 2011, the massive project has thousands of feet of tunnels burrowing under the cinder cone, leading to an observatory where visitors will direct their attention skyward.

Also during his visit, Turrell spent two hours with undergraduate, graduate and alumni art students.

"It was a successful -- and memorable -- dialogue," said Patricia Phillips, art department chair. "James spoke informally and thoughtfully about being an artist, his practice, the ideas and issues that drive his work, the consequences of decisions made at different points in his career. The students were deeply appreciative of this opportunity and had great respect for his openness, honesty and striking intelligence."

Turrell was the first guest of the Cooper Visiting Artist Program, sponsored by John Cooper '97. The series brings contemporary artists to campus each semester. The visit was also made possible with help from Richard Baker '88.