Report of the nations: Belgium
Belgium is probably the most productive holographic nation, insofar the production of silver halide material is concerned, and silver halide is still the workhorse for a very large number of holographic applications, both in display and technical fields.
Wellspring with dying leaves
As was already noted and repeated to saturation by a number of prominents, big is beautiful. Therefore it was tried to make a monumental (biggest in the world?) hologram mosaic, that, combined with properly aligned mirrors, would provide the impression of infinity to naive onlookers. Due to the cost of such a project and the financial situation of Belgian universities, a maquette was first made and presented to a number of potential sponsors. After a couple of years, we were lucky enough to be able to produce the real thing, i.e. one quarter of an octogonal fountain pit of about 3 by 3 metres (10x10 feet) surrounded by stairs. The walls were provided with mirrors, two of them, in front of the spectators, providing a kaleidoscopic effect, three smaller ones giving rise to a repetitive reflection. The bottom of the well was a Denisyuk hologram mosaic of leaves; by some optical tricks, it was tried to simulate the effect of shivering water surfaces. The evolution of the proj ect with time, the practical problems involved, the final realisation, the advantage and the shortcomings of the presentation during a technology fair will be discussed.
The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy
In this newly revised edition of his widely acclaimed work, Peter Burke presents a social and cultural history of the Italian Renaissance. He discusses the social and political institutions that existed in Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and he analyzes the ways of thinking and seeing that characterized this period of extraordinary artistic creativity. Developing a distinctive approach, the author is concerned not only with the finished works of Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and others, but also with the social background, patterns of recruitment, and means of subsistence of this "cultural elite." He thus makes a major contribution both to our understanding of the Italian Renaissance and to our comprehension of the complex relations between culture and society. An excellent social history of the lives and culture of the artists and artisans which made it possible for the arts to flourish.