Robert Irwin’s fluorescent installations, like much of the art that emerged from the Light and Space movement with which he is associated, often demonstrate to the viewer how his or her perception operates. These works are designed to produce very specific visual effects, drawing one’s attention to how sources of light act and interact, and how the color and opacity of objects can be transformed by the presence or absence of light. In studying them, we experience the sensitivity and mutability of our own sight.

 At first glance, #3 x 6'D Four Fold seems supremely quotidian in its materials and composition: four fluorescent bulbs of the same dimensions and vertical orientation aligned on a white wall. However, closer inspection begins to reveal the intricacy of Irwin's intentions. The two adjacent inner tubes are not themselves colored. Rather, they have been wrapped in thin layers of theatrical gels and secured with adhesive tape in order to create a light that is deep red at its core with thin bands of crisp lavender at the edges. The outer tubes, which look to be a pure and neutral white, are not in their original condition either—they have been modified in the same manner. The bulbs also have independent power switches, allowing them to be illuminated in different configurations that dramatically alter their appearance. Turning off the outer tubes causes them to turn a reflective silver and—without the light that they emit—the inner tubes shift to a succulent orange-pink. When these inner tubes are themselves extinguished, they become a rich blue.