Holograph on CNN

Holograph "live" on CNN on Election Night? I was texting Allison Clark at NCSA. Peter? Right? Right!

I'd gone to Grant Park to be there for the victory speech. And there was Wolf Blitzer on CNN enthusing about a "live" holograph, a tv first, Wil.I.AM was beamed in, like Scottie, and so where some other folks. It was Illinois. I recognized the technology. We'd premiered some sensor space technology by Ruzena Bajcscy one of HASTAC's pioneer leaders and then, for the InFormation Year, Ruzena, a team of wonderful dancers from Mills College, and dancers at UIUC, working with her son Peter at NCSA, put on a dance, beautiful, lyrical, exquisite duets between Berkeley and Champaign, Urbana. Wonderful.  If you were in one place, you saw some dancers live and dancing with others who were holographs.  I saw only the movie afterward,  filmed with sensitivity and grace. 

It was quite a bit clunkier on CNN and the next day I heard that Wolf Blitzer wasn't even looking at the holograph of Wil.I.AM but was looking at a red dot at the floor that represented where he would appear to be to the viewing public.  That's a lot less exciting than the modern dance that choreographed presence and telepresence as well as urgent longing across time as part of its artistry.  A far cry from the weird blue line around the holograph and designed, I suppose, to indicate it wasn't "real" even though it was "live" (whatever that means in this context).

On the other hand, the holograph had everyone talking.   It's good to have the general public curious about new visualization technologies, even if it was a very non-aesthetic version.  The technology itself is fascinating and can be used to better purposes in a variety of ways. CONGRATULATIONS, NCSA! Congratulations, Peter. And, oh, yes, congratulations, Mr. President.