We are thrilled to welcome the esteemed Linda Law from the Holocenter. Plus, we have some thrilling news to share from the Looking Glass Factory that you won’t want to miss!
This recent article about the Holocenter is worth reading before watching the show recording.
Our weekly programs are brimming with creativity.:
Jim Harp’s 3D ‘Caption This’
Joe Pedoto’s ‘The Anaglyph Jukebox’
Above images were created from a moving video supplied by Holocenter (click on them to enlarge)
Anaglyph Jukebox: Dr. John Spotlighted Ahead of Fat Tuesday in Musical Tribute
The March 2, 2025, episode opened with a segment honoring Mac Rebennack, known as Dr. John, in anticipation of Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, on March 4. Host Johnny Laser introduced the New Orleans musician with a poetic flourish—“a thunder of jets in an open sky”—before Joe Pedoto detailed Dr. John’s career. Beginning as a session guitarist in New Orleans studios in the late 1950s, Rebennack faced early challenges, including drug addiction and a shooting that injured his hand, prompting a switch to piano. This transition birthed his signature blend of rhythm and blues with New Orleans jazz influences. Over his lifetime, he recorded 30 studio albums and 9 live ones, maintaining an active career until his death in 2019. The segment featured a clip of “M R to You,” showcasing his distinctive gravelly voice and energetic piano work, underscoring his legacy as a key figure in American music.
Nezha 2 Review Highlights Chinese Film Industry’s Global Impact
Film contributor Jim Harp presented an in-depth review of Nezha 2 (stylized as NE ZHA A2), a Chinese computer-animated feature currently screening in 3D. Released as a sequel to 2019’s Nezha 1, the film draws on Chinese mythology, centering on Nezha, a demon child born from a Mystic Pearl alongside a dragon companion. Harp noted its staggering $2 billion box office haul, nearly all from China, placing it among the top 10 highest-grossing films worldwide. Directed by Yang Yu, a former engineer who self-trained in animation over four years, the production involved 138 animation companies and over 4,000 animators. In the U.S., it’s available in Mandarin with English and Cantonese subtitles, with extended 3D showings in northern New Jersey theaters. Harp shared his own 3D conversion of a Chinese poster, using Photoshop to isolate Nezha and enhance depth with dragons and backgrounds. While the narrative may confuse viewers unfamiliar with the first film, scenes like a field of beavers and a turtle monster ravaging a city highlight its visual spectacle. Harp emphasized the film’s role in demonstrating the Chinese film industry’s growing independence from Hollywood.
Linda Law Discusses Holography’s Evolution and the Holo Center’s Mission
Linda Law, executive director of the Holo Center in Kingston, New York, joined as the episode’s featured guest to explore holography’s history and future. Her involvement began in 1975, when, while working in biochemistry at Stony Brook University, she encountered a hologram of a hemoglobin molecule at the International Center for Photography in New York. This experience shifted her career trajectory. Law traced holography’s origins to Dennis Gabor’s 1947 theory—derived from the Greek “holo” (whole) and “gram” (message)—though practical holograms awaited the laser’s invention. In 1962, Emmett Leith and Juris Upatnieks at the University of Michigan, and Yuri Denisyuk in Russia, used lasers to create split-beam holograms, recording interference patterns on photosensitive film. Artists like Margaret Benyon, who made her first hologram in 1968, later adopted the medium.
Law explained that holography requires coherent light—lasers with synchronized wavelengths—to function, unlike Gabor’s earlier Mercury Arc lamp experiments. The Holo Center, co-founded by Ana Maria Nicholson in 1998, preserves this art form despite a materials crisis after 2000, when Kodak, Agfa, and Ilford ceased producing silver halide film. Today, the Center uses photopolymers—self-developing materials exposed in 30 seconds with a 50mW green diode laser (532nm)—purchased for around $300. Their collection includes over 500 holograms, featuring Salvador Dalí’s 1972 work, Nicholson’s pulse Ruby laser portraits, and Fred Unterseher’s diffraction gratings. Law outlined plans for an artist-in-residence lab in their 2,000-square-foot basement, using granite slabs on inner tubes for stability and DIY plate holders made from nails and tiles. She encouraged support via their Patreon (transitioning to Zeffy due to Apple’s 30% fee) and highlighted Looking Glass Go displays, available at their store, which render 100-view 3D images from smartphone photos using AI-driven Gaussian Splats.
Afterparty Q&A Explores Holography Techniques and Preservation Challenges
The episode concluded with an Afterparty segment, where audience members engaged Law in a question-and-answer session. Reflecting on her role as curator of New York’s Museum of Holography from 1968 to 1988, she recalled exhibits like holographic stereograms of Ed Koch and William F. Buckley, created with 2,000-frame film sequences for 360-degree motion effects. Attendees asked about optimal lighting for holograms; Law cited modern LEDs, costing $20-25 each, as superior to past options like halogens or long-filament bulbs for rainbow and reflection holograms, though laser transmissions still require lasers. On accessibility, she detailed a $500-$1,000 single-beam setup—using a 50mW diode laser and photopolymer plates ($10-15 each)—tolerating moderate vibration, unlike the precision labs once needed for split-beam systems.
Jim F inquired about copyright and digitization; Law noted artists retain rights, but converting holograms to Gaussian Splats remains challenging due to AI’s difficulty capturing volumetric depth. Preservation concerns surfaced—MIT holds uncatalogued works, including Bob Schinella’s Cartier window hologram from the late 1960s or early 1970s, but many historic holograms deteriorate in poor storage. Law stressed archival needs—dry, clean conditions with acid-free packaging—and the Center’s goal to copy masters (some 3×2 feet) using costly European silver halide if funding allows. The virtual Holo Museum, envisioned in 2018 with Visby’s tech (since sold and stalled), aims to showcase holograms globally but lacks resources. Robert recalled a San Francisco Hollis Gallery train model from the late 1970s or early 1980s, a laser-projected piece by Gary Zeller, now a Holo Center donor. Law underscored the urgency of preserving holography’s legacy as the only dedicated museum of its kind.
Program Closes with Acknowledgments and Contest Results
The episode ended with the Caption This contest results, awarding William Clay for “I’ve got the whole squirrel in my hand.” Acknowledgments went to Linda Law, contributors Joe Pedoto and Jim Harp, and the crew: Stereo Doro, Jay Kusnetz, Paul Hutchins, and Herb Weiner. Listeners were invited to support the Holo Center and join next week’s broadcast, continuing the exploration of music, film, and technology in 3D.
Preceding summary was generated by Grok AI, and vetted by organic wetware