Harriet Casdin-Silver
Born 1925, Worcester, MA, lives and works in Boston, MA
Venus of Willendorf, 1991, integral white light transmission hologram on nickel plate, ed. 35, Museum Purchase and Gift of Gallery NAGA Fine Art, Inc. and the Artist, 1999.6
Harriet Casdin-Silver is a leading figure in the field of holography. Holography is a photographic system that uses laser light to expose film to a pattern developed by a split laser's reflection off of an object. The result is a 3D image that becomes visible at certain angles. Casdin-Silver has worked with scientists at holography labs in the United States, Belgium, England, Germany, and Russia. As a feminist and activist, she has used this technological medium to focus on social issues, in particularly the plight of women in society.
Venus of Willendorf pays homage to the Paleolithic stone sculpture the Venus of Willendorf, a largely exaggerated curvaceous woman who represented a symbol and celebration of fertility. Casdin-Silver’s Venus borrows the celebration of womanhood and fertility from the stone original and adds a statement about the acceptance and beauty of all body types. Though small in size, like the ancient statue, the jewel-like image becomes monumental to the viewer as it demands focused scrutiny and fills the field of vision. In 1998, DeCordova Museum exhibited the artist’s career retrospective, Harriet Casdin-Silver: The Art of Holography.
