James Turrell

James Turrell (born May 6, 1943) is an American artist. He uses light and space to create his artwork.
Background.
James Turrell was born in Pasadena, California. His father was Archibald Milton Turrell. He was an aeronautical engineer and teacher. His mother was Margaret Hodges Turrell. She studied medicine and worked in the Peace Corps. Both of his parents were Quakers.
Turrell got a pilot's license when he was 16 years old. He carried supplies by plane to mines that were far away. He also made maps by flying over areas. He earned a BA degree from Pomona College in perceptual psychology in 1965. He studied the Ganzfeld effect and mathematics, geology and astronomy there. Turrell entered the graduate Studio Art program at the University of California, Irvine in 1966. Then he began making work using light projections. In 1966 he was arrested for teaching young men how to avoid getting drafted in the Vietnam War. He spent about a year in jail and left UC Irvine. In 1973, he earned an MA degree in art from Claremont Graduate University. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Haverford College.
Awards.
Turrell has received many awards in the arts including The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1984 and the National Medal of Arts in 2013.