Leonardo

Reply to Rene Paul BarilleauxAuthor(s): Martin RichardsonSource: Leonardo, Vol. 21, No. 1 (1988), p. 110Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1578454 .

Accessed: 13/06/2014 00:42

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

The MIT Press and Leonardo are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toLeonardo.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.49 on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:42:15 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

images I prefer. But this absence (or presence, for that matter) will not automatically confer an aesthetic value to any image.

All this is very much a matter of personal taste-certain people like baroque archi- tecture and elaborately carved furniture. Others, such as me, prefer a bare gothic style and Scandinavian furniture. 4. The artist may choose to make the

information perceptually and con- ceptually engaging, but he may also do the opposite. For instance, some viewers may be repulsed by the discomfort induced by several of contemporary English painter Bridget Riley's paintings.

5. In judging the creative and aesthetic value of an image, the process used for the creation seems irrelevant. In any case, there is no novelty in my electronic method. My early images are not very different from those drawn by contemporary American artist Ben Laposky 10 years before me; and, a century earlier, 19th- century French mathematician and physicist, Lissajous, produced similar curves by mechanical means, using a pendulum.

I found the information about the sense of frustration caused by the lack of recognition of an event in my electronic drawings quite interesting and I suppose that this applies to many abstract images. But could a sense of frustration not also be induced by a non-abstract, complicated image which may give the viewer the impression of having missed some interesting details?

Of course, not all human beings desire quick perceptual closure of graphic images, but some people do and so do I.

The emphasis upon the generating process in my paper was requested by Leonardo.

I completely agree with the definition of my 'product': "Elementary exercises in basic design".

Alexandre Vitkine Creations Graphiques

66 Rue d'Aguesseau F 92100 Boulogne

France

COMMENTS ON "MIXED MEDIA: HOLOGRAPHY WITHIN ART"

Martin Richardson's article "Mixed

images I prefer. But this absence (or presence, for that matter) will not automatically confer an aesthetic value to any image.

All this is very much a matter of personal taste-certain people like baroque archi- tecture and elaborately carved furniture. Others, such as me, prefer a bare gothic style and Scandinavian furniture. 4. The artist may choose to make the

information perceptually and con- ceptually engaging, but he may also do the opposite. For instance, some viewers may be repulsed by the discomfort induced by several of contemporary English painter Bridget Riley's paintings.

5. In judging the creative and aesthetic value of an image, the process used for the creation seems irrelevant. In any case, there is no novelty in my electronic method. My early images are not very different from those drawn by contemporary American artist Ben Laposky 10 years before me; and, a century earlier, 19th- century French mathematician and physicist, Lissajous, produced similar curves by mechanical means, using a pendulum.

I found the information about the sense of frustration caused by the lack of recognition of an event in my electronic drawings quite interesting and I suppose that this applies to many abstract images. But could a sense of frustration not also be induced by a non-abstract, complicated image which may give the viewer the impression of having missed some interesting details?

Of course, not all human beings desire quick perceptual closure of graphic images, but some people do and so do I.

The emphasis upon the generating process in my paper was requested by Leonardo.

I completely agree with the definition of my 'product': "Elementary exercises in basic design".

Alexandre Vitkine Creations Graphiques

66 Rue d'Aguesseau F 92100 Boulogne

France

COMMENTS ON "MIXED MEDIA: HOLOGRAPHY WITHIN ART"

Martin Richardson's article "Mixed

images I prefer. But this absence (or presence, for that matter) will not automatically confer an aesthetic value to any image.

All this is very much a matter of personal taste-certain people like baroque archi- tecture and elaborately carved furniture. Others, such as me, prefer a bare gothic style and Scandinavian furniture. 4. The artist may choose to make the

information perceptually and con- ceptually engaging, but he may also do the opposite. For instance, some viewers may be repulsed by the discomfort induced by several of contemporary English painter Bridget Riley's paintings.

5. In judging the creative and aesthetic value of an image, the process used for the creation seems irrelevant. In any case, there is no novelty in my electronic method. My early images are not very different from those drawn by contemporary American artist Ben Laposky 10 years before me; and, a century earlier, 19th- century French mathematician and physicist, Lissajous, produced similar curves by mechanical means, using a pendulum.

I found the information about the sense of frustration caused by the lack of recognition of an event in my electronic drawings quite interesting and I suppose that this applies to many abstract images. But could a sense of frustration not also be induced by a non-abstract, complicated image which may give the viewer the impression of having missed some interesting details?

Of course, not all human beings desire quick perceptual closure of graphic images, but some people do and so do I.

The emphasis upon the generating process in my paper was requested by Leonardo.

I completely agree with the definition of my 'product': "Elementary exercises in basic design".

Alexandre Vitkine Creations Graphiques

66 Rue d'Aguesseau F 92100 Boulogne

France

COMMENTS ON "MIXED MEDIA: HOLOGRAPHY WITHIN ART"

Martin Richardson's article "Mixed

Media: Holography Within Art" (Leonardo 20, No. 3, 1987) offers a thorough exploration of this artist's personal approach to holography. It does not, however, examine several crucial issues concerning the critical evaluation of this new technology as a creative medium used by artists. Richardson made reference to some basic philosophical concerns and comparative criteria as related to holographic art works, and these issues are in line with others of increasing relevance to holography and similar technology-based media.

An initial and important distinction which must be taken into account is the one between technical ability and real content, as in all forms of art. Too often holography and other 'high-tech' art can seduce with their visual charge. Granted that visual interest is inherent in the arts, this visual experience must be grounded in some kind of aesthetic content. Although certain types of subject matter or extreme technical proficiency can enhance a mediocre work in even more traditional media, these elements alone cannot form the primary stimulus of one's response to any work of art. Holography often suffers from the problem of 'all form and no content', a downfall similar with highly illusionistic, trompe l'oeil painting for example. This genre of painting can often concern itself with subject matter and execution only, and little beyond the replication of the real world.

Another problem area in the critical evaluation of holography is the newness of the medium. Although artists began to adopt holography for their own use in the late 1960s, these two decades have not witnessed the development of an objective critical approach by individuals with expertise in the visual arts. Art historians and aestheticians who evaluate traditional methods of art making, and even many critics who deal with alternative forms like video, feel that basic inexperience or lack of technical knowledge inhibits a critical understanding of art holography. In order for holography to gain its much needed acceptance as a legitimate, and viable, alternative medium, it must be viewed with the same objective eyes as other expressive forms, taking into account of course some of holography's unique properties. In no case should primary aesthetic principles be overlooked due to the ignorance or misunderstanding of the

Media: Holography Within Art" (Leonardo 20, No. 3, 1987) offers a thorough exploration of this artist's personal approach to holography. It does not, however, examine several crucial issues concerning the critical evaluation of this new technology as a creative medium used by artists. Richardson made reference to some basic philosophical concerns and comparative criteria as related to holographic art works, and these issues are in line with others of increasing relevance to holography and similar technology-based media.

An initial and important distinction which must be taken into account is the one between technical ability and real content, as in all forms of art. Too often holography and other 'high-tech' art can seduce with their visual charge. Granted that visual interest is inherent in the arts, this visual experience must be grounded in some kind of aesthetic content. Although certain types of subject matter or extreme technical proficiency can enhance a mediocre work in even more traditional media, these elements alone cannot form the primary stimulus of one's response to any work of art. Holography often suffers from the problem of 'all form and no content', a downfall similar with highly illusionistic, trompe l'oeil painting for example. This genre of painting can often concern itself with subject matter and execution only, and little beyond the replication of the real world.

Another problem area in the critical evaluation of holography is the newness of the medium. Although artists began to adopt holography for their own use in the late 1960s, these two decades have not witnessed the development of an objective critical approach by individuals with expertise in the visual arts. Art historians and aestheticians who evaluate traditional methods of art making, and even many critics who deal with alternative forms like video, feel that basic inexperience or lack of technical knowledge inhibits a critical understanding of art holography. In order for holography to gain its much needed acceptance as a legitimate, and viable, alternative medium, it must be viewed with the same objective eyes as other expressive forms, taking into account of course some of holography's unique properties. In no case should primary aesthetic principles be overlooked due to the ignorance or misunderstanding of the

Media: Holography Within Art" (Leonardo 20, No. 3, 1987) offers a thorough exploration of this artist's personal approach to holography. It does not, however, examine several crucial issues concerning the critical evaluation of this new technology as a creative medium used by artists. Richardson made reference to some basic philosophical concerns and comparative criteria as related to holographic art works, and these issues are in line with others of increasing relevance to holography and similar technology-based media.

An initial and important distinction which must be taken into account is the one between technical ability and real content, as in all forms of art. Too often holography and other 'high-tech' art can seduce with their visual charge. Granted that visual interest is inherent in the arts, this visual experience must be grounded in some kind of aesthetic content. Although certain types of subject matter or extreme technical proficiency can enhance a mediocre work in even more traditional media, these elements alone cannot form the primary stimulus of one's response to any work of art. Holography often suffers from the problem of 'all form and no content', a downfall similar with highly illusionistic, trompe l'oeil painting for example. This genre of painting can often concern itself with subject matter and execution only, and little beyond the replication of the real world.

Another problem area in the critical evaluation of holography is the newness of the medium. Although artists began to adopt holography for their own use in the late 1960s, these two decades have not witnessed the development of an objective critical approach by individuals with expertise in the visual arts. Art historians and aestheticians who evaluate traditional methods of art making, and even many critics who deal with alternative forms like video, feel that basic inexperience or lack of technical knowledge inhibits a critical understanding of art holography. In order for holography to gain its much needed acceptance as a legitimate, and viable, alternative medium, it must be viewed with the same objective eyes as other expressive forms, taking into account of course some of holography's unique properties. In no case should primary aesthetic principles be overlooked due to the ignorance or misunderstanding of the

actual processes used in making holo- grams.

And finally, a simple, additional factor contributes to all of these others: there is relatively little good art produced using the medium of holography. Considering the outpouring of holographic works created on an international basis over the past 20 or more years, very little that is self-described by its creators as 'art holography' is indeed really art at all.

Rene Paul Barilleaux Curator of Exhibitions

Madison Art Center Madison, WI, U.S.A.

REPLY TO RENE PAUL BARILLEAUX

Thankyou to Ren& Paul Barilleaux for his valid comments on my article "Holo- graphy: Mixed Media Within Art".

As past Curator at the Museum of Holography in New York I am sure he is aware that public airing of holography is often incorrect in that it euphemistically labels all holograms as artworks, rather than recognising them as recordings of artworks already existing in other media.

Consequently, art galleries and artists alike are extremely doubtful as to the validity of holographic art.

In this atmosphere, aesthetic evaluation remains formative as do the factors which influence the choice of subject matter. Banal subject matter is the technician's trait in this medium capable of repro- ducing reality, but as Barilleaux points out, this should not be a problem for the person wishing to make fine art.

The 'visual charge' of any media can, I believe, be seen as the starting point for the expressive potential of fine art. All primary aesthetic principles are surely a development of this unconscious reaction, and one needs no prior knowledge of the actual process used in making holograms for this to occur.

Good fine art sharpens one's awareness with uncomfortable ease-a climate where the visual charge of holography becomes progressive at its best and novel at its worst.

Martin Richardson 89 South Croxted Road

West Dulwich London, SE21 8BA

U.K.

actual processes used in making holo- grams.

And finally, a simple, additional factor contributes to all of these others: there is relatively little good art produced using the medium of holography. Considering the outpouring of holographic works created on an international basis over the past 20 or more years, very little that is self-described by its creators as 'art holography' is indeed really art at all.

Rene Paul Barilleaux Curator of Exhibitions

Madison Art Center Madison, WI, U.S.A.

REPLY TO RENE PAUL BARILLEAUX

Thankyou to Ren& Paul Barilleaux for his valid comments on my article "Holo- graphy: Mixed Media Within Art".

As past Curator at the Museum of Holography in New York I am sure he is aware that public airing of holography is often incorrect in that it euphemistically labels all holograms as artworks, rather than recognising them as recordings of artworks already existing in other media.

Consequently, art galleries and artists alike are extremely doubtful as to the validity of holographic art.

In this atmosphere, aesthetic evaluation remains formative as do the factors which influence the choice of subject matter. Banal subject matter is the technician's trait in this medium capable of repro- ducing reality, but as Barilleaux points out, this should not be a problem for the person wishing to make fine art.

The 'visual charge' of any media can, I believe, be seen as the starting point for the expressive potential of fine art. All primary aesthetic principles are surely a development of this unconscious reaction, and one needs no prior knowledge of the actual process used in making holograms for this to occur.

Good fine art sharpens one's awareness with uncomfortable ease-a climate where the visual charge of holography becomes progressive at its best and novel at its worst.

Martin Richardson 89 South Croxted Road

West Dulwich London, SE21 8BA

U.K.

actual processes used in making holo- grams.

And finally, a simple, additional factor contributes to all of these others: there is relatively little good art produced using the medium of holography. Considering the outpouring of holographic works created on an international basis over the past 20 or more years, very little that is self-described by its creators as 'art holography' is indeed really art at all.

Rene Paul Barilleaux Curator of Exhibitions

Madison Art Center Madison, WI, U.S.A.

REPLY TO RENE PAUL BARILLEAUX

Thankyou to Ren& Paul Barilleaux for his valid comments on my article "Holo- graphy: Mixed Media Within Art".

As past Curator at the Museum of Holography in New York I am sure he is aware that public airing of holography is often incorrect in that it euphemistically labels all holograms as artworks, rather than recognising them as recordings of artworks already existing in other media.

Consequently, art galleries and artists alike are extremely doubtful as to the validity of holographic art.

In this atmosphere, aesthetic evaluation remains formative as do the factors which influence the choice of subject matter. Banal subject matter is the technician's trait in this medium capable of repro- ducing reality, but as Barilleaux points out, this should not be a problem for the person wishing to make fine art.

The 'visual charge' of any media can, I believe, be seen as the starting point for the expressive potential of fine art. All primary aesthetic principles are surely a development of this unconscious reaction, and one needs no prior knowledge of the actual process used in making holograms for this to occur.

Good fine art sharpens one's awareness with uncomfortable ease-a climate where the visual charge of holography becomes progressive at its best and novel at its worst.

Martin Richardson 89 South Croxted Road

West Dulwich London, SE21 8BA

U.K.

Commentaries Commentaries Commentaries 110 110 110

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.49 on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:42:15 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions