Olafur Eliasson's 'Room for one colour' | Monochrome: Painting in Black and White

Made in collaboration with our Young Producers, watch how visitors have reacted to artist Olafur Eliasson's 'Room for one colour', an immersive light installation currently featuring in our exhibition, 'Monochrome: Painting in Black and White'.
Monochrome: Painting in Black and White
30 October 2017 - 18 February 2018
Sainsbury Wing
Members go free. Pre-book tickets online and save: bit.ly/2wWXfWb
Explore the tradition of painting in black and white from its beginnings in the Middle Ages through the Renaissance and into the 21st century.
Painting using predominantly black-and-white pigments has long held a fascination for artists, yet there has never been a major exhibition on the subject. ‘Monochrome’ presents a series of case studies that investigate where and when grisaille painting was used and to what effect: from early religious works to paintings that emulate sculpture or respond to other media such as printmaking, photography, and film.
Comprising works on glass, vellum, ceramic, silk, wood, and canvas by artists such as Rembrandt, Picasso, and Gerhard Richter (1932-), ‘Monochrome’ encourages visitors to trace the fascinating but little-studied history of black-and-white painting. Exhibition organised by the National Gallery in collaboration with Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf.
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[@ExpressivelyYannaMarie]

I wish I was there!

[@Aaron69420_]

There’s a hotel in Pensacola beach that uses these lights outside during night and it confused me so much when I walked outside and my pink shirt turned grey

[@Pvgn]

Can someone please give an Amazon link for a similar light bulb?

[@prntm926]

just look for "low pressure sodium lamp"

[@prntm926]

And i believe you cant just plug it in normal bulb socket, it need somw kind of converter.

[@the.secret.of.]

@@prntm926 thank you!!!

[@ArkhamHedler]

​@@prntm926 needs a ballast.

[@mlondinxumalo2117]

whats the name of this light ?

[@MrTMMN]

Probably low pressure sodium light (LPS or SOX). You'll need a special armature and ignitor for these lights. They where used (and still are), for security and street lighting. If you're looking for a cheap light, you can look for old street lights that have all the electronics built in, make sure it's a low pressure sodium (SOX) and not a high pressure sodium(SON) as the latter does not have this effect.

[@WXVA9]

Yellow

[@porcupinesauce3872]

Can u only have yellow monochromatic light that has this effect of draining color?
What about red? Or blue?

[@TheSoxmania]

If you can get a light source that emits only one wavelength of light, as color is produced when light reflects off an object. If you have, say, a blue ball and light it with a monochromatic red light, it should appear black to the blue light as the blue ball will absorb the light from the red light.

[@Alpha13Wolf]

That’s really just monochromatic light, light limited to a single wavelength. Purple or magenta won’t work though as it isn’t a single wavelength.

[@finngury9528]

does anybody know what type of lights were used?

[@97TC]

Monofrequency lights

[@MrTMMN]

Most likely low pressure sodium light (LPS or SOX). Back in the day they where sometimes used as street lighting due to the efficiency. The lamp produces a light of almost 100% 589 nm wavelength, thats why the light appears monochromatic. Fun fact is that the human eye has a maximum sensitivity for a wavelength close to this 589 nm.

[@TheSoxmania]

@@MrTMMN That's absolutely correct. The lamps they are using are low pressure sodium, also known as SOX or LPS. They were super common here in the UK as a primary street lighting source due to their high efficacy, only recently being matched on the top end by LED. 180 watt low pressure sodium was once the single most efficient light source on the planet with a top efficacy of 200 lumens per watt. Which meant that you got a good 36,000 lumens from one 180w lamp!

[@olivecool]

@@TheSoxmania can they be other colors

[@TheSoxmania]

@@olivecool No, as the lamps rely entirely on Sodium to produce their light, and raw sodium metal when excited to the point of emission only produces light in the 589nm range. It's an extremely monochromatic spectra, which is why anything lit by a SOX lamp is either a gradient of yellow or black.

[@ArkhamHedler]

Low Pressure Sodium Lamp

[@GavinSpence-mg9eh]

Wait so I'm confused. In the video it's all yellow. But they talk about it like it's all black and white. Which one is it?

[@nationalgallery]

Hi Gavin, the room was bathed in a yellow light which made all colours appear to be shades of yellow, grey and black. You can see the people in the space look monochromatic because of this effect.

[@GavinSpence-mg9eh]

@@nationalgallery hey man thanks so much for the response god bless you 🙏✝

[@Chinhnguyen0497]

they say black and white is actually orange

[@Nonononono_Ohno]

"Painting in Black and White" -- It's not black and white, it's black and yellow.

[@RedkarlDaGamer]

No context for this comment, just backrooms