The a is ic use o pa allax and lenses e ealing he in isible
in holog aphy
R. Ga cia-Robles
Lec u e , Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain
A da. Reina Me cedes s/n, 41012
Email: [email p o ec ed]
R. M. Oli ei a
Assis an P o esso , Uni e si y o A ei o, Po ugal
ID+ Resea ch Ins i u e in Design, Media and Cul u e
www.idmais.o g
Email: [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac . The e a e many a is ic esou ces o e ed by holog aphy: hi d-dimension
egis a ion and econs uc ion, imma e iali y, colo in e p e a ion, holog aphic space, ealism,
e c. Bu he e a e a ew o hem which a e e y cha ac e is ic and singula o ha media such as
he in e sion o pa allax, and he possibili y o making in isible o u n in o isible. Cu en
pape aims o discuss key issues conce ning wi h he aes he ic use o hose special ea u es.
I is based on heo e ical as well as c i ical analysis o he p oduc ion by some o he mos
ou s anding holog aphic a is s who ha e made use o such in e es ing esou ces.
1. Making in isible o u n in o isible
Al hough he sen ence “making in isible o u n in o isible” may sugges magic icks o decep ion,
he e a e many ways o ge ha aim. Good examples a e mic o- and mac o-scopes which allow human
o access spa ial as well as empo al domains which would emain un eachable o he wise.
Bu , in ela ion o making in isible o u n in o isible by means o holog aphy, i e e s in a poe ic
manne o o he possibili ies o e ed by such media, as he ones lis ed below:
1. To egis e op ic p ope ies o anslucen objec s such as lenses. A mi o o a lens ans o ms
he incoming ligh wa e on in o a new one, which is hen egis e ed in o he holog aphic
pla e o ilm. In ac , holog aphy is mainly a wa e on egis a ion echnique. A e wa ds he
holog aphic pla e o ilm allows he econs uc ion o he egis e ed objec s, including he
anslucen and anspa en ones. Figu e 1 (“B eak as ”, by Pa ick Boyd, 1988) and igu e 2
(“Sel -po ai ”, by Edwina O , 1982) show holog aphic a wo ks which ha e used lenses as
esou ces o he p oduc ion o he inal image.
9 h In e na ional Symposium on Display Holog aphy (ISDH 2012) IOP Publishing
Jou nal o Physics: Con e ence Se ies 415 (2013) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/415/1/012014
Published unde licence by IOP Publishing L d
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Figu e 1. “B eak as ”, Pa ick Boyd (1988) Figu e 2. “Sel -po ai ”, Edwina O (1982)
2. I is also possible o use lenses and anslucen objec s when c ea ing ainbow holog ams,
suppo ing he c ea ion o abs ac mul i-colo ed composi ions. Many a is s ha e explo ed
ha esou ce; some o hem e en did i a dis inc i e ea u e o his/he isual language o s yle.
One ou s anding example is Ma ie And eé Cosse e’s holog aphic a p oduc ion (see igu e 3
“Mémoi e”, and igu e 4 “Luminescence” as pa adigma ic examples).
Figu e 3. “Mémoi e”,
Ma ie And eé Cosse e
Figu e 4. “Luminescence”,
Ma ie And eé Cosse e
HOE (“Holog aphic Op ical Elemen ”) is a ype o echnique ha suppo s he egis a ion o
wa e on s hemsel es. The e a en’ usually o he objec s in he scene, bu physical o i ual
lenses ( he las one when hey a e compu e gene a ed). Tha echnique has been used by
se e al a is s as aes he ic esou ces in hei co esponding c ea ions. Mainly in wo o ma s:
(a) Tex u ed su aces p oducing a huge ange o spec al colo s.
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(b) As elemen s in eg a ed in abs ac spa ial composi ions. Ou s anding a is s on he ield
a e: Rudie Be khou , Melissa C enshaw, Se suko Ishii, Paul Newman and O azem e Luck.
Melissa C enshaw [1] and Se suko Ishii [2] [3] made in e es ing land a pieces such as
“Wa e Falls II” ( ig. 5) and “Apolinean Gi s se ies” ( ig. 6) espec i ely. Fi s o hem was
composed o an holog aphic ilm inlayed in o wo glass su aces, used o suppo a wa e all
while being backwa d illumina ed c ea ing an spec al spec acle. Second a o emen ioned
wo k by Ishii was unde aken wi h he same ype o holog aphic ma e ial used as ex u e o
cylind ical sculp u es placed in a wa e pool. The sunligh e lec ed on he wa e su ace
andomly mo ed by he wind ans o med such ins alla ion in an e anescen colo
o ches a ion.
Figu e 5. “Wa e Falls II”,
Melissa C enshaw, (1992)
Figu e 6. “Apollonian Gi Se ies”,
Se suko Ishii, (2000)
On he o he hand, Paul Newman b illian ly embodied ligh in o holog aphic sculp u es such
as “Ligh Fo m” (see igu e 7). As s a ed by Edua do Kac conce ning his holog aphic
p oduc ion “in his holog ams i is impossible o iden i y speci ic shapes o composi ions,
because he a is wo ks wi h he e anescen beha io o he di ac ed whi e ligh o p oduce
epheme al appea ances” [4].
Figu e 7. “Ligh Fo m”, Paul Newman Figu e 8. “TV HOE”, O azem & Luck
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O azem & Luck a e wo associa ed a is s who we e wo king oge he in ligh ins alla ions,
in eg a ing di e en media such as holog aphy, ideo and compu e g aphics. In “TV HOE”
( igu e 8) a digi al black & whi e TV anima ion was p ojec ed h ough a big HOE placed in
on o he TV moni o . The e o e, he moni o changing images wo k as ligh ing sou ces o
illumina e he HOE ( u he in o ma ion: [5]).
The a is ic ou come became “a cinema ic spec acle combining he spa ial linea i y o he
anima ion wi h he spa ial and ch oma ic dimension o holog aphy” [4].
3. Al e na i e sou ces such as acous ic holog aphy o X- ays allow making holog ams o he
inne pa o opaque objec s o he human body. I has no been documen ed any a is ic
expe ience in his di ec ion, bu he e exis s ha chance o make in isible o u n in o isible.
4. Holog aphic in e e ome y is a e y use ul scien i ic ool o s udy ma e ial de o ma ion. I has
been mas e y used by some holog aphic a is s such as Ma ga e Benyon in he wo ks
“Coun ing he Bea s” ( ig. 9) and “Ti esias”, as well as Sally Webe [6] in “Fossil” ( ig. 10).
Making isually explici human hea bea ing as well as human skin mo emen s u n sub le
li e signals in o poe ic isual pa e ns, e ealing he mys e y and beau y o he li ing na u e.
Figu e 9. “Ti esias”,
Ma ga e Benyon, (1981)
Figu e 10. “Fossil”,
Sally Webe , (2006)
The a o emen ioned esou ces illus a e how holog aphy suppo s he access o human senses o
in isible ealms in a e y cha ac e is ic way; and how a is s ha e expe ienced hem acco ding o
di e en o iginal aes he ic app oaches.
To inish he su ey on he use o ha holog aphic aes he ic esou ce, i is ema kable how ligh
ac s as genesis and ep oduc ion mechanism o he esul ing holog aphic image. In ac he holog am
is essen ially ligh i sel , i.e. ligh ep esen ed by ligh , and such sel - e e en iali y is absolu e. Tha
ci cums ance is especially e iden in ela ion o some ou s anding holog aphic a is s whose
p oduc ion may be conside ed colo and ligh abs ac ion. Tha ’s Rudie Be khou ’s case [7],[8],[9].
His may be conside ed connec ed o he legacy o o he p e ious ligh a p ac i ione s such as Thomas
Wil ed o Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. O he ou s anding a is s making g ea con ibu ion o he use o
holog aphy as an abs ac ligh ing media a e Die e Jung, Michael Bleyenbe g, and Ka s en Hobiho s .
9 h In e na ional Symposium on Display Holog aphy (ISDH 2012) IOP Publishing
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2. Pa allax e ec s: In e ing he space conca i y
Fi s ques ion o be answe ed is how i is possible o in e he space conca i y. Pseudoscopy is he
physical p ope y explaining ha issue. I suppo s changing he p oximi y-dis ance spa ial
ela ionship, and he pa allax e ec s o he holog aphed scene. So, objec s close o he holog aphic
pla e/ ilm du ing he egis a ion phase appea o be a away when he holog aphic image is
econs uc ed.
When, ins ead o se e al objec s, he e is only one, he esul is he olume in e sion, i.e. making
con exi y o u n in o conca i y and ice e se. Such e ec has been widely used in adi ional
sculp u e and elie s h oughou he a his o y om ancien o con empo a y p ac ices. Fo example,
he Egyp ian ones in he walls o he py amids ( igu e 11); o Subi ach’s sculp u es placed in he
acade o he Sag ada Familia Ca hed al designed by Gaudi and buil in Ba celona ( igu e 12). Posi i e
(con ex) o nega i e (conca e) olumes can be achie ed and showed in a e y di e en way
depending on he ligh sou ce posi ion illumina ing hem.
Figu a 11. Egyp ian Temple a Dende a Figu a 12. Sag ada Familia Ca hed al a
Ba celona, Josep. M. Subi ach
Bu , wha aes he ic possibili ies does his esou ce o e in ela ion o holog aphy? The a is can
ind an illusionis ic esou ce o mislead spec a o s. The human in ellec is cul u ally condi ioned in
such a way ha i unde s ands as conca e wha ac ually a con ex olume is. Tha is due o be
accus omed o he sun ligh shining up in he sky, which makes people o obse e ou s anding olumes
a he han nega i e ones.
The same happens wi h holog aphy, and a is s ha e used ha esou ce o decei e spec a o s, bu
also o ans o m he pe cep ion o he eal wo ld. Al hough he e a e no so many examples, a ew
good ones a e “G a e ” by Ha ie Casdin-Sil e ( igu e 13), “Ho izon” by Ken Ha is ( igu e 14), and
“Vo ex II” by Dan Schwei ze ( igu e 15).
Figu e 13 “G a e ”,
Ha ie Casdin-Sil e , (1991)
Figu e 14 “Ho izon”,
Ken Ha is, (1980)
Figu e 15 “Vo ex II”,
Dan Schwei ze , (1978)
9 h In e na ional Symposium on Display Holog aphy (ISDH 2012) IOP Publishing
Jou nal o Physics: Con e ence Se ies 415 (2013) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/415/1/012014
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Casdin Sil e ans o ms a banal ki chen objec , in e ing he inne olume o ou e ; ans o ming
he pseudoscopic ‘g a e ’ in o an abs ac ligh sculp u e, as s a ed by Jona han Ross (Ross, 2003:S ill
Li e). Simila ly o ‘ eady-mades’ by Duchamp, ‘B illo-box’ by Wa hol, o Claes Oldenbu g
sculp u es, Casdin-Sil e decon ex ualise an o dina y ins umen o become an a is ic objec .
As i can be app ecia ed, much mo e abs ac a e Dan Schwei ze ’ and Ken Ha is’ wo ks, wi h
eminiscences o p e ious a is s s yles such as Man Ray’s.
3. Conclusion
Pseudoscopy as well as he capaci y o egis e in isible ligh wa e on s a e e y cha ac e is ic
ea u es o he holog aphic media. Au ho s ha e been esea ching on how o ge good a is ic
ou comes based on bo h esou ces. Some o hem ha e e en based hei own isual languages on
shaping ligh , cap u ing i s e he eal and unique na u e by means o bo h ea u es.
4. Re e ences
[1] C enshaw M. 1987 Psedo-colo e lec ion holog aphy – An a is s pe spec i a, P ac ical
Holog aphy II, ed. T. H. Jeong, P oc. SPIE Vol. 747, pp.104-107.
[2] Ishii S. 2006 A is ic Rep esen a ion wi h Holog aphy, Fo ma, Vol.21, pp.81-92.
[3] Ishii S. 2006 A chi ec u al applica ion and main enance o a holog aphy, P oc. 7 h
In e na ional Symposium on Display Holog aphy, pp.123-128.
[4] Kac E. 1998 Beyond he Spa ial Pa adigm: ime and cinema ic o m in holog aphic a , P oc.
6 h In e na ional Symposium on Display Holog aphy, SPIE, Vol.3358.
[5] O azem V. 1995 Holog aphy as an elemen o he media a chi ec u e, P oc. 5 h In e na ional
Symposium on Display Holog aphy, SPIE Vol. 2333, pp.168-177.
[6] Webe S. 2006 Benea h he su ace: New wo ks o m he S a a Se ies, 7 h In e na ional
Symposium on Display Holog aphy, S . Asaph, Gales.
[7] Be khou R. 1989 Holog aphy: Explo ing a new a ealm – Shaping emp y space wi h ligh ,
1989, Leona do, Vol. 22, 313-316
[8] Be khou R. 1996 In es iga ing he use o HOE’s in he holog aphic image p ocess, 1996,
P ac ical Holog aphy X, ed. S. A. Ben on. P oc. SPIE Vol. 2652, pp. 204-212
[9] Be khou R. 1998 A Compac Holog am Display, and he Design o a Full-Colo Ve sion,
Using Diode Lase s, P oc. SPIE Vol. 3293, P ac ical Holog aphy XII.
Acknowledgmen s
Thanks o a is s explo ing he holog aphy media, and specially hose ci ed on his pape , o
disco e ing he beau y o ligh using he discussed esou ces. Also o collec o s such as Jona han Ross,
because his passion o holog aphy suppo s esea ch such as he one p esen ed in he cu en pape .
9 h In e na ional Symposium on Display Holog aphy (ISDH 2012) IOP Publishing
Jou nal o Physics: Con e ence Se ies 415 (2013) 012014 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/415/1/012014
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