Kanye West Shot an IMAX Film Inside James Turrell’s Roden Crater and You Can See It in Theaters Next Month

West has donated $10 million toward Turrell's efforts to complete the monumental earth work.

James Turrell's Roden Crater (ongoing). ©2017 Skystone Foundation, © James Turrell.
James Turrell's Roden Crater (ongoing). © 2017 Skystone Foundation. © James Turrell.

Drake may have channeled James Turrell’s art for a music video, but Kanye West—never one to be outdone—is releasing a film set in the Light and Space artist’s most famous installation. 

Next month, West will release an IMAX film shot this past summer inside Roden Crater, Turrell’s ongoing land-art installation within a hollowed-out volcano in Arizona’s Painted Desert. Titled Jesus is King after West’s forthcoming album, the documentary includes footage of West performing in the crater, giving viewers a rare look at Turrell’s masterpiece, which has to this point only been seen by a select few people. 

West first saw Roden Crater late last year. The experience was so “life changing,” as he wrote on Twitter, that he subsequently donated $10 million to the project.

Since then, West has held one of his “Sunday Services,” a weekly spiritual gathering that he hosts, at the dormant volcano-cum-art-project—documentation of which will appear in the film. West’s services feature a rotating choir of gospel singers who perform both classics and covers while clad in baggy Yeezy outfits. The events are generally invite-only and guests are often asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. West has held services in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and numerous other cities since January.

Courtesy of IMAX.

Courtesy of IMAX.

Turrell first purchased Roden Crater in 1979 after spotting the dormant volcano from an airplane. Since then, he has slowly turned it into a giant solar observatory lined with a matrix of specially designed tunnels. Earlier this year, Turrell partnered with Arizona State University to launch a fundraising campaign to see the work to completion. So far, he has raised $40 million in its $200 million goal. 

Jesus is King screenings will be held in IMAX  theaters around the country starting October 25. 


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