Light and space as experience: a study of the work of James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson, and perceptual phenomenology

This thesis sets out to explore the relationship of art, perception, and the public through the work of James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson. The text Art and Visual Perception by Rudolf Arnheim is used as a starting point behind the scientific theory of perception, specifically in the matter of light and space. Furthermore, writings of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Edmund Husserl are analyzed in the context of perceptual phenomenology. The thesis looks at the history of the Light and Space Movement, Minimalism, and Relational Aesthetics. Two works of art by the artists are examined and compared for the artists' methodologies and applications of theory. They are then examined in the context of curating and how they stand in the eyes of the public.