Unique holographic images make their debut in Jakarta

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Remember when the monthly National Geographic included a holographic image of an eagle on its March 1984 cover?

Sure, a three-dimensional representation on a flat page is quite awesome. As you turned to the sides of the page you could see the sides of the bird. It seemed you would even see behind its legs if you turned the magazine over. Although the image was remarkable, it only reminded me of those postcards overlaid with a ribbed layer of plastic screen which produce three dimensional scenes.

Holograms have come a long way in the 11 years since. Now holographic images produce much more believable three dimensional images, particularly because of their larger size. Because there is more space for you to look into, the three-dimensional effect works well.

The holographic images from the Museum of Holography in Paris, France are on display at the Main Exhibition Hall of Taman Ismail Marzuki. Some as large as one meter square, really reach out to their audience.

The exhibit has been much more successful than many other exhibits staged in Jakarta. Ordinary art-on-the-wall shows no longer attract many people. Indonesians need exhibits that really jump out at them.

None of the works actually accost you. Those that have been recorded on flat plates are merely three-dimensional photographs of objects. You can see the largeness of the noses, the sweep of the eyelashes and the size of the Adam's apples of characters such as Boy George.

The projected images allow you to get a close and realistic looking at the object, whether it is a futuristic key, a trumpet, or a microscope.

Presentation tools

Holograms are excellent presentation tools. A representation of Parc La Villette in Paris enables a presenter to point at the follies in the park in three-dimensional space.

Holograms also provide an interesting opportunity for museums. Some of the images that are on display are representations of gold or bronze statues and jewelry. The holographic image enables visitors to carefully examine the details of the artifact. Therefore, as holography technology advances, the images may be developed for museum exhibits. In the future, it may even be able to provide a substitute of the original object, affording the true conservation of the real piece.

It can also be used to show objects in three-dimensional sections. In one framed image, you see a machine while another image included in the same plate is a dissected part of the whole. By shifting your original viewing position a little, you see the internal components of the same object.

Even more amazing is that holograms enable you to look into the holographic image and see another image within the hologram. A large representation of a microscope projects out to you. By carefully positioning your eye at the eyepiece, you can see what is under the microscope.

The most exciting holograms today are used in combination with motion and movement. If you move around the portrait of Dizzie Gillespie in the exhibit, you can see the way he blows his horn, and how his cheeks explode as he does.

Holograms offer a kind of virtual reality. The difference is that if the elements in virtual reality are computer generated, the holographic images are produced photographically. Holographic images can offer virtual reality without wearing helmets or complicated computer equipment.

One display is the image of an attractive woman. As you walk towards her, she looks at you straight on. Then, as you walk around the display case, the woman moves as well. Her hand moves up to her mouth and, while her head stays in its original position, her eyes follow yours until she looks at you through the corner of her eyes. Then, as you move right beside her, she gives you a seductive wink.

The fictional technology used in Man from U.N.C.L.E., StarTrek, and other serials from the late 1960s, have been real since the 1980s. The holograms shown in the exhibit have yet to physically jump at the viewers, but it seems that it is certainly a possibility in the near future.

High tech exhibits, like the hologram exhibit which will run through June 27, enthrall residents of Jakarta. The efforts of the Muse de l'Holographie Paris, the Centre Culturel Franais Jakarta, the Taman Ismail Marzuki and the Embassy of France, deserves commendation. More exhibits such as this would certainly be welcome and well-appreciated.