Friday. A long day of CAD drafting ahead of me. My spirits are lifted briefly by the latest article by Hugh Pearman about James Turrell’s installation, Skyspace. I get to the links at the bottom and realise that it’s at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Hooray for the interweb! I know someone nearby…
From: Rob
To: Neil
Date: 28-Apr-2006 09:54
Subject: in the name of artDear Neil,
Need a big favour. Please could you fix it for me to see some photos of this:
www.hughpearman.com/2006/13.html
I know you’ve got the skills to nail it.
All the best,
Rob
A couple of e-mail exchanges later…
From: Neil
To: Rob
Date: 30-Apr-2006 14:44
Subject: Re: in the name of artRob,
Mission accomplished! Here’s all the pics I took today, smallenised down for easy emailage: let me know if you want particular ones biggerified.
I picked a busy time, Sunday afternoon, so that The Art Guards would have more people to bother with, and I was all hoodied-up for some sneaky phonecam action. Rather disappointed, then, that there isn’t a member of staff /in there/, just one on the door. And I knew him. People were taking photos in there with normal cameras quite openly – in flagrant disregard of the rules – so I joined in.
Don’t get me started on the two incredibly loud women…
Then there was a lull in the traffic and it was just me in there for a while, so I got some architecturally bits and pieces that I thought you might be interested in: since the roof is open to the sky it seems to be designed a little bit like a wetroom, with channels in the concrete sides and a sort of drainage ditch running around the
edge of the floor.
It’s very calm in there, provided there aren’t any talking people (quite an echo). It’s a perfect square in plan, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if the height of the room was the same, too. The sky-window seems to have almost no lip to it – it’s a frame, not a shaft. Quite cloudy but bright today, so the sky was a big glow of white rather than blue. The walls and the ceiling around the frame are white, the sides/benches are that sort of smooth concrete stuff they seem to like using in modern builds these days and the floor is a rougher concrete-eqsue stuff. The sides and particularly the door frame with its slab of lintel lend the place a tomblike feel. The sides are sloped back at just the right angle to gaze upwards.
Apparently they’re going to open it at night sometime, which will be /so/ cool.
I’ll probably sneak back in during the week when there are less tourists about, and get some realcam pictures.
Enjoy!
Neil
Like I said, hooray for the interweb. And hooray for folks like Neil. I was a little skeptical when I first started reading the Hugh Pearman piece, much less so by the time I finished it. Now I’m entirely sold on the idea. It looks like an absolute delight for eyes and fingers. Anyone for a trip to the YSP?