James Turrell: The artist who directly influenced Denis Villeneuve
Helming epic stories about replicants and sandworms with ease, Denis Villeneuve has carved out a place for himself as one of the most unique talents in contemporary cinema. His filmmaking style is expansive but sleek, pairing cold, clean sci-fi landscapes with an undeniably human quality. Where Villeneuve shines most, though, is in his visuals and cinematography.
Between the giant neon holograms in the Ryan Gosling-fronted Blade Runner 2049 and the eerie spiders throughout Enemy, Villeneuve has produced some of the most striking images in modern filmmaking. Often setting his stories in huge worlds, his visuals emphasise their expanse. One of the most compelling examples of this came in 2016 with Arrival.
Starring Amy Adams, the film considers humans and aliens through language and time. It’s a beautiful story of communication and connection, only sweetened by Villeneuve’s expert cinematic eye. Between stunning shots of the external spacecraft, the director allows us inside the world of the Heptapods, which consists almost entirely of white light.
Adams is often juxtaposed against an expansive, white light through which the aliens communicate. She looks up at the vast illumination, the perspective making her look smaller in comparison as different messages appear for her to interpret. Villeneuve’s decision to play with expansive light was inspired by the work of light and space artist James Turrell.
Turrell’s artwork has often focused on light’s properties, perception and potential, from creating his “skyspaces” to light exhibitions surpassing 90,000 square feet. Particularly in photos of his artwork displayed in museums, where people provide scale, it’s easy to see how his light experimentation inspired Villeneuve’s visual direction on Arrival.
The artist was interested in light from a young age, noting his early experimentation with it in an interview with Daily Good: “I did several things in my room when I was very young. We had these blackout curtains in Pasadena, as a response to the threat of attack in WWII. And I pulled them down and put the constellations along the ecliptic so that during the day, I could see the stars. I was interested in light phenomena. I think it’s not too different from a deer looking into the headlights – that quality of captivation.”
His artistic interests can almost be summed up in his own words: “I make spaces that apprehend light for our perception, and in some way gather it, or seem to hold it. So in that way it’s a little bit like Plato’s cave.” It’s a beautiful and intriguing concept, which has resulted in some equally beautiful and intriguing artwork – not just Turrell’s own, but Villeneuve’s, too.
Both Villeneuve and his long-time collaborator and production designer Patrice Vermette were taken by Turrell’s work, and it heavily influenced their filmmaking. “We were both inspired by James Turrell, a famous artist who plays with light and shadows and can create strange rooms with gigantic screens that create a feeling of infinity and can create 3D objects with just light,” the director stated in a conversation with The Film Experience.
The result was a collection of striking visuals which would earn a ‘Best Cinematography’ nomination at the Academy Awards. The use of light looked breathtaking on-screen but also served to enhance the emotion and story at the centre of the film. It’s a feat in artistic filmmaking.
