The artistic use of parallax and lenses revealing the invisible in holography
Abstract
There are many artistic resources offered by holography: third-dimension registration and reconstruction, immateriality, color interpretation, holographic space, realism, etc. But there are a few of them which are very characteristic and singular of that media such as the inversion of parallax, and the possibility of making invisible to turn into visible. Current paper aims to discuss key issues concerning with the aesthetic use of those special features. It is based on theoretical as well as critical analysis of the production by some of the most outstanding holographic artists who have made use of such interesting resources.
Full text
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
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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)
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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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