Kanye West is throwing $10 million into a volcano
He wants to help James Turrell finish his crater art project
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CELEBRITY Kanye west
Kanye West is reportedly donating a whopping US$10 million to James Turrell’s Roden Crater Project in northern Arizona, where the 75-year-old artist has been working on turning an extinct volcano into an open-air observatory.
Turrell bought the 400,000-year-old, 4.8-km-wide crater land in 1977, and for more than four decades he's been transforming the inner cone of the crater by carving out tunnels, rooms, and openings designed specifically for viewing and experiencing sky-light, solar, and celestial phenomena.
West's expensive passion for the Turrell Art Foundation seems to have started in December of last year, when the rapper went out to Arizona to see the crater's progress. He said of the experience, "This is life changing. We all will live in Turrell spaces."
Went to visit the James Turrell crater two days ago. This is life changing. We all will live in Turrell spaces
— ye (@kanyewest) December 13, 2018
Though West is known to have more than a few vastly different opinions in the same Twitter rant, it's safe to say this belief really stuck.
Turrell ???? pic.twitter.com/MTzZiWeTWS
— ye (@kanyewest) December 14, 2018
According to WSJ, Turrell has reportedly teamed up with Arizona State University to try to raise $200 million to complete the project as well as turn it into a creative campus with an amphitheatre and student residences. They aim to open the Roden Crater to the public in five years.
Kanye and team visiting the Roden Crater by James Turrell in Flagstaff, Arizona earlier this week.
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) December 21, 2018
Kanye also visited the location on December 11. pic.twitter.com/4rySiP5Ujs
The moment that really sealed the deal for West was when he visited Turrell's light installations at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art on December 27, after which he made his intentions clear and told the artist, "You finally got me here, bro."
"You finally got me here, bro."
— MASS MoCA (@MASS_MoCA) December 27, 2018
— @kanyewest to James Turrell this morning pic.twitter.com/HNlxhFG0GJ
West isn't the first rapper to be inspired by Turrell's work, however, as Drake has repeatedly expressed his admiration for the way the artist uses light and space. Drake's music video for 'Hotline Bling' shows a clear Turrell influence, though the director denied any conscious effort to incorporate his work. Turrell later wrote in a statement, "While I am truly flattered to learn that Drake f**ks with me, I nevertheless wish to make clear that neither I nor any of my woes was involved in any way in the making of the 'Hotline Bling' video."
Since West still has an ongoing feud with Drake, we will hopefully see West try to one-up the 'Hotline Bling' video with the first ever music video to be shot at the Roden Crater.
Until then, West and Kim Kardashian have just confirmed they're having their fourth child, a baby boy, via a surrogate. Kardashian West made the announcement on 'Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen' when the reality TV star admitted, "I got drunk at our Christmas Eve party, and I told some people, but I can't remember who I told."
It's a boy! @KimKardashian confirms she and @kanyewest are having another baby! https://t.co/JbNbyTRyB7 #WWHL
— WWHL (@BravoWWHL) January 15, 2019