Gary Fisher
Holography
© 2019-2026  Gary Fisher
Integral Holography

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, I made a large number of integral holograms in 100-degree, 120-degree, and 360-degree format on holographic film and on 4x5 and 8x10 holographic glass plates. Thes were made on apparatuses of my design and implementation. Truly an intersection of  art and technology, my holographic art practice could not have been realized without my technical ability to design and implement complex opto-mechanical systems.

 

My integral holograms were made of sequential frames of motion picture film imaged on an optical table through a large cylindrical lens onto the holographic recording plane.The filmed images were recorded with a Mitchell 35mm motion picture camera while the subject was on a rotating platform. A 360-degree integral hologram of a complete rotation of the subject can comprise about 2000 individual holograms. Ideally each of these individual cylindrical holograms need to be of equal modulation (brightness). Since the holographic recording process can take over 6 hours, this is in practice extremely difficult to realize.

 

Not apparent in the photographs below, the virtual images of the subjects float about 8" behind the holograms. The holograms can be rotated, translated, or presented flat. For holograms of less than 130-degrees they can be displayed flat without translation with minimal, non-apparent distortion.

 

When displayed in a flat format, the holograms can be displayed like most 2-dimension art with the addition of a suitably placed cylindical light source immedialy behind the hologram.

Copyright 1980 Gary Fisher
Integral hologram, choreographed by Gary Fisher, holography by Gary Fisher.
Modern Dance Sequence of Dancer Margaret Shoen (Margie), 1980, #8 of 23, 8-3/4 x 16-5/8
Copyright 1980 Gary Fisher
Integral hologram, choreographed by Gary Fisher, holography by Gary Fisher.
Copyright 1978 Gary Fisher
Self Portrait Seated on a Peacock Chair, 1978, 8 x17"
Copyright 1978 Gary Fisher
Copyright 1976 Gary Fisher
Dimitri, 1976, 8" x 10"
Copyright 1976 Gary Fisher
Copyright 1976 Gary Fisher
Kata, 1976, 8" x 10"
Copyright 1976 Gary Fisher
Copyright 1988 Gary Fisher
Spatial Abstract 1, 1988, 8"x 8"
Copyright 1988 Gary Fisher
Copyright 1986 Gary Fisher
Golden Eagle, 1986, 8 x50"
Copyright 1986 Gary Fisher
One view of an integral hologram of a dance sequence that I choreographed of modern dancer Margaret Schoen. In May 2026 The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) acquired this hologram as part of their permanent collection.
Iintegral hologram of the classical guitarist Dimitri recorded on 8" x 10" holographic glass plate
Integral hologram of Gary Fisher performing a kata. The hologram was recorded on a 8"x10" glass plate.
120-degree integral hologram recorded with film made in 1978.
This is a 90-degree segment of a 360-degree integral hologram of a golden eagle taxidermy specimen. In 1984 a 30" segment of one version of the hologram, together with a laser transmission hologram, and a light-beam projection were shown in Images in Time and Space, a holography exhibition, at the Museum of Science and Technology in Los Angeles.
This is one of several holograms I made from in the 1980's investigating holography as a color field and abstraction medium. This hologram is meant to be viewed as a virtual image.