Holographic Space: A Generalised Graphic Definition

Abstract

'W~' hether holography is art or not is, of course, an unnecessary enquiry. The medium of holography is no more art than the media of painting, video or photography. Each offers potential for artistic expression, depending on the person who employs them and the observer's interpretation, which is often shaped by the general consensus of the 'art world'. If holography has yet to be accepted as a viable visual medium by the art world [ 1 ], this is not surprising, because the debate on whether photographic images can be considered 'art' still smoulders, even though photography is considerably older than holography and is regularly shown in galleries and museums and taught in art colleges. As an artistic medium, holography has had a considerable amount of criticism levelled at it. Art critics have been quick to dismiss the vulgarity of the colours, the novelty of its impressive three-dimensionality, limits of size, awkwardness of display or lack of subtlety. It is seen as little more than an optical gimmick. One defence of such attacks is to remove holography from mainstream criticism by making it a special case: a completely new way of presenting images that therefore cannot be criticised by the same criteria as traditional media. But if holography is ever to be considered seriously as a creative medium, it must be willing to accept traditional criticism. At the same time, there is truth in the suggestion that holography is in some ways fundamentally different from other media. The unique qualities of holography have prompted artists to struggle with an unfamiliar and inaccessible technical process almost since the first three-dimensional image was made public. The visual results from both artists and scientists working in the field have prompted statements such as, Holographic space is the first major breakthrough in the experience and expansion of pictorial space since the penetration of the picture plane by Renaissance artists following Brunelleschi's discovery of linear perspective in 1425 [2]. This may appear overwhelming, even grandiose, but it is in essence correct, even though many would not wish to accept the sweeping implications. What is disturbing is that the qualities inherent in holographic space are often confused and diluted because of our familiarity with traditional picture representations on a flat surface. Observers and critics are unwilling to absorb a new or different method of presenting images.