Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface

During the 1960s and 1970s, a loosely affiliated group of Los Angeles artists--including Larry Bell, Mary Corse, Robert Irwin, James Turrell, and Doug Wheeler--more intrigued by questions of perception than by the crafting of discrete objects, embraced light as their primary medium. Whether by directing the flow of natural light, embedding artificial light within objects or architecture, or playing with light through the use of reflective, translucent, or transparent materials, each of these artists created situations capable of stimulating heightened sensory awareness in the receptive viewer. Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface, companion book to the exhibition of the same name, explores and documents the unique traits of the phenomenologically engaged work produced in Southern California during those decades and traces its ongoing influence on current generations of international artists.

Foreword by Hugh M. Davies

Additional contributors:

Michael Auping

Stephanie Hanor

Adrian Kohn

Dawna Schuld



Artists:

Peter Alexander

Larry Bell

Ron Cooper

Mary Corse

Robert Irwin

Craig Kauffman

John McCracken

Bruce Nauman

Eric Orr

Helen Pashgian

James Turrell

De Wain Valentine

Doug Wheeler