OSRAM donates a lifetime of moonlight

Moonlight lamps from OSRAM set the stage for artist Katie Paterson’s “Lifetime of Moonlight”

Artist Katie Paterson was presenting her “Lifetime of Moonlight” creation at Albion Gallery in London. The idea: specifically developed lamps blanket people with moonlight – a whole life long. The installation was made possible by the lighting manufacturer OSRAM. The company developed special edition moonlight-simulation lamps based on the artist’s specifications.

When looking for lamps which would optimally reflect the colour spectrum of moonlight, Scottish artist Katie Paterson turned to OSRAM, a leading Munich-based lamp manufacturer. The simulation of moonlight and its significance for an entire human lifetime is the aim of her “Lifetime of Moonlight” project. Although the company didn’t have a product that met her requirements in its existing product portfolio, OSRAM’s engineers decided to take on the interesting challenge and developed a lamp for the work of art.

The OSRAM moonlight lamp used in Paterson’s installation is based on the burner of a 28W HALOGEN ENERGY SAVER CLASSIC A. This product easily substitutes conventional light bulbs found in homes. It saves energy and produces a colour impression similar to that of a light bulb. However, the moonlight lamp had to create a colour spectrum similar to moonlight at a low illumination level. In order to achieve this, the engineers in Munich had to fit a filter to the burner of the halogen lamp which has a colour
temperature of 3000 Kelvin.

To achieve this feat, OSRAM’s experts resorted to a blue Classic A bulb taken from an OSRAM DÉCOR A DAYLIGHT. This element, production of which ceased some time ago, facilitates the emulation of moonlight. The blue bulb shifts the halogen lamp’s colour spectrum and translates it into the effect the artist wanted to create. A total of 3300 lamps were manufactured for Katie Paterson as one-off special designs in keeping with this principle, each with its own serial number.

The artist’s idea was to generate moonlight for the average life expectancy of a person of 68 years. A total of 289 OSRAM moonlight lamps with a lifespan of 2000 hours each are now part of her artwork, which is currently on exhibit at the Albion Gallery in London. With the 3300 lamps produced by OSRAM, Ms. Paterson now has 11 sets, including replacements to present her work around the world in the future.

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OSRAM GmbH