AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

CW (content warning): This presentation will cover material that depicts racism and racist organizations both visually and in text.

This presentation covers the investigation of the only hologram in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s collection, an untitled, 1983 work by William Christenberry. The hologram–and holography itself–was identified as an understudied area in the field of conservation during a 2016 collections survey. The research presented in this talk provides an introduction to holographic history, identification, approaches to display, and materials analysis.

To display a hologram is to nearly determine the exposure of the image. In other words, to illuminate a hologram is to re-expose the artist’s vision. This is a tremendous responsibility arguably unforeseen in the field of photograph conservation. Given that the Hirshhorn’s object portrays potentially triggering subject matter, it is all the more important that the artist’s complexity of concept is not lost due to a disservice in display. The image forming material of a hologram is a void of transparent emulsion, appearing clear, until it is enigmatically recreated or “reconstructed” by light. The brightness, depth, sharpness, color, and even presence of subject matter depend on the display light type, angle of light-incidence and viewing angle. Ultimately, the fundamental mood of the artwork is controlled by the exhibition parameters.

It is important to understand that holograms are a youthful scientific discovery that only took shape in the 1960s and 1970s. Therefore, the diverse visual characteristics and numerous mechanisms of deterioration have not been thoroughly researched in the field of art conservation. To understand the Hirshhorn object’s place within the complex family-tree of holographic processes, a resource list that draws from the disparate realms of physical science, commercial mass-production, and hobbyist internet forums was compiled. This deep dive into material data informed the creation of a simplified visual aid for process identification and helped in confirming the Hirshhorn’s object as a white-light illuminated reflection type hologram composed of silver gelatin emulsion on a glass support adhered to a black mount.

To understand how the different qualities of light sources produced different holographic display phenomena, spectral measurements of several common light sources were captured. Variations on light intensity, location, and color were documented in display trials. These trials could be particularly useful for museums venturing to display their white-light illuminated holograms.

The analysis included X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) of the glass supports and the use of Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to confirm the adhesive that binds the supports. Many conservators may find, as in this case, that the image material is “sandwiched” or inaccessible for examination, therefore, the confidence in composition is all the more dependent on strong material data research. The concern over glass alteration exacerbated by the use of Tyvek in a poorly constructed housing is also discussed.

Above all, this talk is a call to action for meticulous documentation and continued research into the unmined vein of holographic materials. As contemporary artists are taking a renewed interest in holography, conservators must work diligently with living artists to document the desired re-exposure of their work and consider the implications and complexities of exhibiting extant holograms in their collections.