James Turrell, an internationally-renowned light and space artist and Pomona College graduate, has been awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.

Known for his groundbreaking visual art, Turrell captures the powers of light and space, building experiences that force viewers to question reality, challenging their perceptions not only of art, but also of the world around them.

A native of Southern California who grew up in Pasadena, Turrell received his undergraduate degree in perceptual psychology from Pomona College in 1965 and an M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate School in 1973.

“Since his days as an undergraduate psychology major,” notes an article in Popular Science, Turrell has “been carefully exploring and manipulating the ways people’s eyes and brains process light and space, reminding us that on a fundamental level, everything we see is illusion.”

Also receiving the Medal of Arts is musician Linda Ronstadt; novelist, poet and essayist Julia Alvarez; arts patron Joan Harris; dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones; musical theater composer John

Kander; DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg; writer Maxine Hong Kingston; documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles; architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams (receiving individual medals); and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Turrell’s Skyspace “Dividing the Light,” located on Pomona’s campus, gathers visitors beneath a canopy that frames a window to the sky. At dusk and dawn, a lighting program bathes the canopy in changing colors, altering the viewer’s percep tion of the sky as a shallow pool mirrors the daytime sky and reflects a dark echo of the night sky.

“Dividing the Light” is open to public viewing every day during the summer and Saturday through Monday night September through May. For more information on “Dividing the Light,” visit the Pomona College Museum of Art.

Turrell’s glowing ganzfeld “Breathing the Light” is currently on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.