03 December 2019

Light in Kanye West's short film

KANYE WEST CHOSE A UNIQUE SPACE FOR HIS SHORT FILM. IT'S RODEN CRATER - THE BEST LOCATION FOR CONTEMPLATING LIGHT

The latest album of Kanye West’s is named Jesus is King. Based on religious themes, such as salvation and redemption, the album was released at the end of October. The trailer and another video suggest that the film is based on a Sunday Service concert concept that features the tracks from the album being performed by Kanye West along with a gospel choir. The concert was filmed inside James Turrell’s Roden Crater. This place is full of mysticism and ancestral spirituality makes it the ideal setting for West’s exploration of Christianity.

James Turrell’s Roden Crater, where Jesus is King was filmed, is a monumental land art project. It was designed to minimally disturb the surrounding natural space. Turrell has been working on it since the 1970s and it is now scheduled to officially open to the public in 2024. Roden Crater is located inside the crater of an extinct volcano in the Painted Desert (northern Arizona). James Turrell has always worked on reinforcing the bond between space and light. So Roden Crater is considered to be his masterpiece, the sum of all his previous work and a totally unique project in the panorama of contemporary art.

When you cross the threshold of the Roden Crater, it is like entering another dimension into another-worldly space where you can enjoy a truly extraordinary sensory experience. The entire construction is based around an itinerary that alternates between long corridors and spacious rooms that open onto the sky to allow visitors to contemplate the celestial sphere in its many forms. Roden Crater is therefore the ideal place to admire the stars and the planets and to see how light changes throughout the day. Walking through the Roden Crater, you feel unusual and impressed. The contemplation of light has unexpected effects on your perception. It is a constantly changing experience that borders on mysticism. This makes the crater the perfect place to perform Kanye West new album Jesus is King, an album where an expression of the sacred fulfill every note with a powerful light.

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