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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT NOVEMBER 17, 2022
James Turrell’s Skyspace exhibit entitled “Joseph’s Coat” at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
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COLLECTIONS For many years, the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art was out of the acquisition business. But the last 10 years have brought a change in direction.
SPENCER FORDIN A+E EDITOR
Y
ou’re standing, craning your neck and looking through a simple, square skylight. Or maybe you’re even lying down and looking straight up. But one thing’s for certain: You’ve never seen the sky like this before. “Joseph’s Coat,” a skyspace designed by James Turrell, provides a figurative and literal entry to the latest exhibition, “A Decade of Collecting,” at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and that’s because it represents a changing of eras. “I always thought the completion of this space revitalized and energized our contemporary program,” says Stephen High, executive director of the Ringling Museum of Art. “It energized our acquisition program altogether. So that’s why I start here.” The museum’s first director, Arthur Everett Austin Jr., was a baroque scholar who was also engaged in contemporary art. But then around 1996, says High, there was a change of direction at the Ringling, and contemporary art fell out of favor. That brief interlude lasted more than a decade. “Joseph’s Coat” was commissioned in 2008 or 2009, says High, and later completed in 2011. And that’s right when another era of the Ringling began. For the first 50 years of the museum’s existence, says High, the Ringling added just 8,000 works to the collection. But over the past 11 years, the Ringling has added more than 12,500 pieces, and the “Decade of Collecting” exhibit celebrates both its depth and breadth. There’s sculpture and painting, photography and tapestry involved. Only 100 pieces of the collection are on display. And of course there’s Turrell’s Skyspace, which mixes LED lights with the setting sun for natural eye candy. High says the LED aspects of Joseph’s Coat are temporarily down for maintenance because of complications from Hurricane Ian, but when it’s functioning, it’s a perfect place to watch the sunset. “The lights are mixing with the sky and gradually reducing light in the sky. The darker it gets, the harder it has to work,” says High. “It starts off with lots of lighter colors. You get into mid or late in the hour and it uses really strong colors — dark blues and reds — to bring more texture out of the sky. Then you get to a point where it’s all white. And it’s over. “But there’s another point where the roof and the sky become exactly the same
Photo courtesy of Giovanni Lunardi Photos by Spencer Fordin
Quilt made by Luella York Munson
Silkscroll image of a tiger by Mori Tetsuzan.
“I always thought the completion of this space revitalized and energized our contemporary program. It energized our acquisition program altogether. So that’s why I start here.” — Stephen High
“Winter Sunday” by Jon R. Schueler
color, like almost a dark gray. And at that moment in time, that entire roof sort of disappears.” What was the artist going for? He actually wants you to make your own experience. According to his website, Turrell says of his skyspace projects, “My work has no object, no image and SEE COLLECTIONS, PAGE 2
“Double Trouble” by George Pappas