By genetechnological modification of the biological photochrome bacteriorhodopsin a variety of new materials has been generated with photophysical properties adapted to the particular needs of various optical applications, like optically addressed spatial light modulators, real‐time interferometry, holographic pattern recognition and optical data storage. These materials were obtained by slight modifications of the amino acid sequence of wildtype bacteriorhodopsin. This new approach in material science illustrates the potential of gentechnological modifications of natural macromolecules in order to derive from them technically usable materials which advantageously employ their evolutionarily optimized properties.