All-Day Winter Solstice Viewing of Robert Irwin’s untitled (dawn to dusk)
Saturday, December 21, 2019
On Saturday, December 21, 2019 the Chinati Foundation will host an open viewing of Robert Irwin’s untitled (dawn to dusk) from 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. The viewing will be free and open to the public.
Robert Irwin’s untitled (dawn to dusk) was inaugurated in July 2016 after many years of planning by the artist. Configured on the footprint of the former Fort D.A. Russell hospital, Irwin’s building-cum-artwork is divided into two halves, one light and one dark, each bisected by walls of translucent, white or black scrim that capture and refract the light that enters from high windows. Ranks of white and black scrim walls in a short connecting arm create a transition zone between the light and dark corridors. Throughout the day, Irwin’s artwork offers an ever-changing experience of light, space, and the passage of time. The work represents the culmination of Irwin’s decades-long investigation of these perceptual phenomena.
In 2018 Chinati initiated the tradition of all-day open viewing of untitled (dawn to dusk) on the summer and winter solstices—the longest and shortest days of the year. The December 21 open viewing of Irwin’s work will offer visitors the opportunity to experience it on the day when the sun is at its lowest maximum elevation and the transition from dawn to dusk is at its most rapid.