THE HAUNTING BEAUTY OF HOLOGRAPHIC ART

cocoon The images in Ana Maria Nicholson's recent show, "Into the Night", seemed like ghosts frozen in time and seen through a window. The life-sized holograms of a woman appeared spectral, glowing sunset red, emerald green, abyssal blue. The effect was rare, unmatched in any other medium. A photograph could not render the woman's face from every angle; a sculpture could not depict each of her long, black hairs suspended in space in such extraordinary detail.

Nicholson is the director of the Centre for the Holographic Arts, the only group in New York dedicated exclusively to exploring holograms as fine art. Although the centre lost its own space earlier this year, the organisation continues to bring holographic art to the city; it partnered with the Flux Factory, a non-profit arts group, to present Nicholson's exhibition, which closed last week.

To make a holographic image, Nicholson scans her subject with a laser, like a photographer with a flash. A normal photograph can blur if the subject fidgets; in holography even the blood surging beneath a person's skin is enough to distort the final image. To prevent blurring, the laser must fire pulses billionths of a second long.

In Nicholson's work "Rebirth", the model emerges from a sun-bright veil or birth caul; in "Illuminata" she moves from a cage of red beams of light; in "Cocoon" (pictured) she is double-exposed, "looking almost like she is beginning to give birth to herself", says Nicholson, who likens the series to a spiritual journey. "Holograms are like images from dreams, from the astral plane, that come into our world, share our space."

Other artists at the centre explore different themes. Martina Mrongovius creates holograms of urban landscapes. Because holograms force viewers to move around, in order to get the full effect, "They're interesting ways to experience spaces," Mrongovius says, "like adventures where you have to be curious, follow little clues to piece together a narrative."

For her latest project Mrongovius worked with Nick Normal, a fellow artist, in collecting pictures of New York from strangers, which they wove them into a paper diorama of the city. In November she will unveil a three-dimensional holographic work of this model. "I want to make a map of people's experience, a memory that becomes a hologram," she explains.

The limitations of holography are severe. The film used to capture and store holograms is very expensive, and a holographer typically has just a few chances to capture what is required. Also no aspect of a hologram can be changed after it is developed. Still, "they look like nothing else out there," Nicholson says.

~ CHARLES CHOI

Image credit: Ana Maria Nicholson