The versatility of holographic art, as well as the medium’s ability to recreate objects in three dimensions, allows artists to reinterpret old art forms in bold, new ways. Holograms have been used artists to create realistic holographic films, illuminated three-dimensional portraits, and holographic sculptures that appear to rotate as the viewer moves. For a truly unique type of holographic art, some artists have combined various types of media with holograms that morph real objects with holographic extensions.
When a laser is used to illuminate an object and the light is recorded on a light-sensitive medium, holograms are created. The reflected light is then passed through another light source, resulting in interference patterns that form a three-dimensional holographic image recording that can be viewed from various angles as the viewer moves. Artists have been inspired this technology to experiment with different types of holographic art and to use the medium in different ways that combine art and science.
Even at the microscopic level, holographic art portraiture has the potential to render likenesses of people and animals in such fine detail that features appear accurate. The fact that the image appears three-dimensional adds to the realism of holographic portraits. In a way that painted portraits cannot, holographic portraits can achieve realistic life-like lighting. Brightness is recorded and appears as the eye sees it, not just the whiteness of the underlying canvas or paper.
By recording holographic images of scenes, objects, and people, some artists have embraced holographic art filmmaking. Although limited to real objects, some filmmakers layer images on top of each other using multiple holograms to make each image appear to interact with the other. Holographic filmmakers can also combine still sculptures with holographic film clips to make the objects or people in the movie appear to interact with the still object or scene.
An object with both a practical and artistic purpose can be created combining holographic art forms and sculpture. The Chaos Temple is a working television station transmitter with holographic elements in Holstebro, Jutland, Denmark. This holographic sculpture serves as a city landmark and is visible at all hours of the day and night.
When holograms are combined with real objects, holographic multimedia art forms emerge that are difficult to categorize. Ikuono Nakamura created “Materialization,” a holographic image of Harry Houdini’s chained hands emerging from a real milk jug, as a tribute to the late 19th- and early 20th-century escape artist and magician Harry Houdini. Holographic multimedia artists can combine holographic images with real objects to create multimedia art objects that change appearance as the viewer moves around the piece, changing the image with different holograms as the viewer’s perspective shifts.
Artists must frequently become well acquainted with the physics behind holograms and how they are formed in order to push the boundaries of art even further. This gives them more freedom to experiment with new ways to incorporate holograms into works of art. In their quest to achieve their artistic goals, many artists have contributed to the art science of holography inventing new technologies. Even more new types of holographic art will emerge as a result of these new technologies.