Light bulb to Simulate Moonlight

Title: Light bulb to Simulate Moonlight
Description: Paterson worked with engineers to take light-meter readings, analyze wavelengths, and finally locate an appropriate surface coating in order to produce a bulb that emits rays approximating the light of a full moon. Paterson commissioned Osram to manufacture 289 bulbs, each lasting 2,000 hours so that the total duration of the whole set corresponds to a lifetime, based on the average human life expectancy of 66 years as estimated in 2008. With each installation, during which the entire set is exhibited with a single bulb burning in the gallery, the lifespan of the artwork is shortened.
Identifier: M_2021_GUGGE_01
Creator: Katie Paterson (1981)
Date: 2008
Format: installations (visual works)
Medium: 289 frosted colored halogen lightbulbs (28W, 4500K), logbook, and crate
Subject: moonlight; light bulbs; mortality
Spatial Coverage: Germany
Source: Guggenheim Museum; https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/28089
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