Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Street art in Cartagena.
Colombia • 10 days, 9 nights
Colombia Discovery: Coffee, Art & Music
from
Tinkercast Yucatan Mexico family trip
Mexico • 7 days, 6 nights
Yucatan Family Adventure: Meteors, Pyramids & Maya Legends
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Flores de calabaza and melty quesillo make for a divine quesadilla.
Tacos del Carmen
Lines from Burns poetry line the edge of the pool
Brow Well
Inside the museum.
Jesse Owens Museum
A medieval Buddha on an ancient coffin lid.
Sarcophagal Amitabha-Buddha
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Flores de calabaza and melty quesillo make for a divine quesadilla.
Tacos del Carmen
Amicar Hernandez and Paulina Rovilla wanted to properly celebrate these humble legumes.
La Frijolería
Rafael Villalobos relies on locally harvested grains for his superlative pastries.
Bodaega
Chef Jorge León changes the menu here constantly.
Alfonsina
For dessert, the nicuatole, a pre-Hispanic corn-thickened gelée, accompanied by a prickly pear granita.
Levadura de Olla
Recent Stories
All Stories Puzzles Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
A close-up of an unidentified species of Conophytum with yellow flowers. This is one of many tiny succulent plants that have been confiscated by South African law enforcement.
Demand for Tiny Plants Is Driving a Poaching Crisis in South Africa
1 day ago
Always be prepared.
Dear Atlas: How Do I Safely Explore Abandoned Places?
1 day ago
Sometimes, even fantastical flavors are rooted in reality.
What Does a Galaxy Taste Like?
2 days ago
Horror hotlines celebrated one of the genre’s favorite tools of torture: the telephone.
The Heyday of Horror Hotlines and Why We Still Love to Fear the Phone
5 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California 'Dividing the Light'
AO Edited

'Dividing the Light'

This public Skyspace created by artist James Turrell for his alma mater puts on a show every day at sunrise and sunset.

Claremont, California

Added By
Aylin Metzel
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
‘Dividing the Light’ at dusk.   Hannah Christenson / CC BY-SA 4.0
‘Dividing the Light’ at dusk.   Hannah Christenson / CC BY-SA 4.0
‘Dividing the Light’ at dusk.   Hannah Christenson / CC BY-SA 4.0
‘Dividing the Light’ at dusk.   Hannah Christenson / CC BY-SA 4.0
‘Dividing the Light’ at dusk.   Hannah Christenson / CC BY-SA 4.0
‘Dividing the Light’ seen from the outside at dusk.   Sdkb / CC BY-SA 4.0
The building exterior at night.   Sdkb / CC BY-SA 4.0
Interior view at night.   Sdkb / CC BY-SA 4.0
The show at sunset   Avoiding Regret
Pinkish phase   Avoiding Regret
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Artist James Turrell’s light and space installations can be found around the world. Since its beginning in 1974, the artist's Skyspace series has grown to include nearly 90 unique installations, including one at his alma mater, Pomona College.

Nestled between two academic building's on the college campus, Dividing the Light consists of a small covered courtyard with a fountain and an illuminated canopy that frames the sky above. The canopy is illuminated by LED lights that rotate through a series of colors throughout the day. Every hour between sunset and sunrise, they "chime", rotating through a series of colors over three minutes, and longer light shows take place daily at sunrise and sunset.

This particular installation has dazzled viewers with its environment-specific light programs since 2007. Catch the sunrise program beginning approximately 40 minutes before sunrise, and the sunset program beginning 10 minutes before sunset.

Related Tags

Universities Installations Color Art Light

Know Before You Go

Groups larger than 10 can make a reservation through the Benton Museum.

Community Contributors

Added By

jimminyslimminy

Edited By

Avoiding Regret, michaelmanson

  • Avoiding Regret
  • michaelmanson

Published

October 31, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://news.artnet.com/art-world/james-turrell-skyscape-2159140
'Dividing the Light'
600 N College Way
Claremont, California, 91711
United States
34.100171, -117.713166
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Spadra Cemetery

Pomona, California

miles away

Sam Maloof House

Rancho Cucamonga, California

miles away

Egyptian Building

Chino Hills, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,494
Stories 134

Nearby Places

Spadra Cemetery

Pomona, California

miles away

Sam Maloof House

Rancho Cucamonga, California

miles away

Egyptian Building

Chino Hills, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,494
Stories 134

Related Stories and Lists

It's Barbie's World in These Perfectly Pink Places

List

By Michelle Cassidy

Related Places

  • Earthlings aboard a spaceship

    Monterrey, Mexico

    'Espíritu de Luz'

    This ”skyspace,” which bears a resemblance to a spacecraft, is designed to disappear in the presence of light.

  • “The Large Glass” on display at the museum.

    Tokyo, Japan

    Replica of Duchamp's 'The Large Glass'

    One of three official copies of Marcel Duchamp's enigmatic masterpiece is on display in an obscure Tokyo museum.

  • Exterior of James Turrell Skyspace

    Seattle, Washington

    James Turrell Skyspace

    An enclosed rotunda at the Henry Art Gallery in which viewers can look up and see the uninterrupted sky.

  • View to the sky

    Austin, Texas

    Skyspace: The Color Inside

    A view-altering observatory at the University of Texas.

  • A panel depicting the formation of the universe, the constellation Orion and Copernicus’ solar system model showing the sun as the center of the universe.

    Orem, Utah

    Roots of Knowledge Stained Glass

    An absolutely beautiful 200-foot stained glass installation traces the evolution of knowledge.

  • Goldie 71 as first installed, 2009

    Tuscaloosa, Alabama

    Goldie 1971 - The Fallen Robot

    A rusted metal giant pays tribute to Birmingham’s industrial past.

  • Forbest Pigment Museum

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

    Forbes Pigment Collection

    The thousands of shades on display — some toxic, others impossibly rare — are a library of more than just color.

  • The Fallen Star installation is now part of the permanent collection at UCSD

    San Diego, California

    Fallen Star

    This little blue house pokes out over the campus of UC San Diego, seven stories high.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

See Fewer Ads


Become an Atlas Obscura member and experience far fewer ads

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Puzzles
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.