Before Holography: A Call for Visual Literacy

This essay deals with the importance of visual literacy and historical perspective as it applies to the holographic community. The study of art history is a common requirement in most studio art programs. Similarly, photography students are usually introduced to the history of that medium early in their training. This is not always the case with holography, which often emphasizes technique and process. To study the various stereoscopic formats of the past is to understand previous uses for some of the effects that characterize holography. An understanding of why these earlier imaging systems fell out of use can help the student holographer avoid the same pitfalls. The goal of this essay is to increase awareness of the need to get past the novelty of the medium. Only then can the student of holography come to terms with the expressive potential of depth, color, movement and parallax that defines the holographic image.