A Imagem Holografica, The Holographic Image

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, October & November 1985

In 1985 the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon hosted the first Portuguese exhibition dedicated to holography as an art form.

"The exhibition although it includes only eight artists aims at showing different technical and aesthetic approaches to holographic creation. … It is hoped that it will interest not only the public but also Portuguese artists to whom this advanced creative process offers new perspectives as an art of the future."
– José Sommer Ribeiro and Fernando de Azevedo, Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon (in catalogue introduction)

Susan Gamble and Michael Wenyon curated the exhibition and designed its overall physical layout. Margaret Benyon, Rudie Berkhout, and Dieter Jung supervised the installation of their works with museum technicians.

The Foundation published a colour catalogue listing all the works in the show and information about each artist. Margaret Benyon recorded new white-light viewable copies of her 1969 laser transmission holograms Picasso and Still Life for this exhibition, making them in a sense the earliest works in the show.

Participating Artists
- Rudie Berkhout
- Margaret Benyon
- Jeremy Diggle
- Dieter Jung
- Wenyon & Gamble
- John Kaufman
- Doug Tyler

Installation Design
The images on this page document the architectural installation of the show rather than the individual works (which can be seen in the catalogue from the link at the bottom of this page).

A Imagem Holografica was spaciously hung in comparison with many holography shows of the period. The eight artists presented multiple works illustrating their sustained engagement with the medium over years, in separate galleries/spaces. In effect, a series of individual exhibitions were connected by the long corridor gallery.

Located on the lower level of the museum, these galleries were without natural light. Rudie Berkhout employed single-filament halogen bulbs in reflector-less fixtures he designed and built himself. Otherwise, where possible, existing museum light fixtures and light track were fitted with halogen bulbs. Wenyon & Gamble installed miniature theatrical spotlights with low-voltage MR16 reflector bulbs and tubular light-track which they brought from London.

The sparse hanging provided space for multiple viewers to move freely around the holograms. Additionally, the holograms were laid out so they did not reflect other works or illuminated objects in their front glass surfaces.

Background
During the early 1980s, the London branch of the Gulbenkian Foundation had been a major funder of Goldsmiths' Holography Workshop, an experimental open-access atelier that Wenyon & Gamble set up and managed for the Fine Art Department of Goldsmiths' College, University of London.

Documentation & Impact
The Gulbenkian Foundation has made available full documentation in their online archives, including events, publications, graphic materials, internal documents (including letters between Susan Gamble and the Foundation staff), photographs, and press clippings.

Wenyon & Gamble
June 28, 2021

Note: The photographs on this page are 35-millimetre colour film slides taken by Wenyon & Gamble in 1985 and digitized thirty years later.

A Imagem Holografica (The Holographic Image)

– Eight artists in the age of the Laser

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, October & November 1985

A Imagem Holografica (The Holographic Image),
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985,
exhibition entrance with holograms on tripods by Rudie Berkhout

Margaret Benyon, holograms
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

Rudie Berkhout, holograms
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

Rudie Berkhout, holograms
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

Jeremy Diggle, object constructions with holograms,
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

Dieter Jung, holograms, including poem,
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

Jung, Kaufman (r) and Tyler, holograms
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

John Kaufman, holograms (images not visible)
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

Wenyon & Gamble, holograms
"A Imagem Holografica", Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 1985.

click for full exhibition catalog (PDF)

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A Imagem Holografica (The Holographic Image)

– Eight artists in the age of the Laser

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, October & November 1985