Harriet Casdin-Silver: The Art of Holography
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, James and Audrey Foster Galleries
September 26, 1998 – January 3, 1999
Harriet Casdin-Silver is one of the most significant, yet art-historically neglected, figures in contemporary American art. DeCordova is proud to be the first museum to host a career retrospective of this important artist with Harriet Casdin-Silver: The Art of Holography. Over 60 of Casdin-Silver’s artworks are included in this groundbreaking exhibition which is organized by Associate Curator Nick Capasso.
Casdin-Silver is a pioneer of art holography in this country and was an important figure in the development of installation art and technological art in the 1960s. Casdin-Silver’s work is internationally recognized and has been exhibited for over 25 years in museums, galleries, and universities through the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Casdin-Silver has not only set aesthetic standards for holography but also stretched the scientific boundaries of the medium. Casdin-Silver was the first artist to develop frontal-projection holograms, the first to explore white light transmission multi-colored holograms, and the first to exhibit outdoor, solar-tracked holograms.
Casdin-Silver began her artistic career in the 1960s as a painter and quickly moved into multi-media and technological images. In 1968, Casdin-Silver made her first holograms, becoming the first artists to work in this media. Casdin-Silver’s early work focused on both abstract and object-based images; by the late 1970s, Casdin-Silver began exploring the human figure, in particular the female body. At the same time, the artist began to combine holography with other media to create installation pieces. More recently, Casdin-Silver’s work focuses on the issues of feminism, the human form, the aging process, death, and issues of identity.
Now age 73 and a grandmother, Casdin-Silver’s has lived and worked in New England for over 30 years. The exhibition includes many images depicting the human form—with a number of self-portraits completed at various ages—multimedia works, and installation pieces. Her recent collages incorporate holography and photography.
An extensive catalogue written by Nick Capasso along with essays by Otto Piene, Edward Lucie-Smith, and Frank and Jacqueline Popper accompanies the exhibition.
