James Turrell is an American Installation artist whose primary focus is on light and space. His works are unique in that his use of light creates an illusion of solidity where there is none. In most art work, light is only an element of the work that creates what we see as value. Though light is everywhere, it is often never seen as a separate entity. Turrell’s artwork succeeds in isolating and confining the light into an area so that it is transformed into something with both form and weight. 

         James Turrell is currently working on his largest project, Roden Crater. The observatory within the center of the crater, a former volcano, is a modern day form of Stonehenge. This sublevel temple-like structure has tunnel systems that open up to the sky. These tunnels guide the light from the earth’s sun, stars, and moon into the atrium where a person can view them without any reference to the horizon or landmarks. The effect of isolating the viewer form any points of reference creates the feeling that it is not the stars that are moving but the viewer himself.