AF-Calgary’s 27th $1,000 micro-grant to aid in the creation of the world’s first crowdsourced 3D printed sculpture
September 3, 2013
Linked will be the world’s first crowdsourced 3D printed sculputre. Unique medallions 3D printed around the world will be assembled into a hanging mesh, which will form a mosaic representing the intersection of art and engineering.
3D Printer owners from around the world are invited to personalize an interconnecting medallion design and ship their contribution to Calgary. Contributors are encouraged to show off their logo, equipment, materials and 3D modelling skill, and are invited to submit as many different designs as they like.
Jeff de Boer is internationally known for his four distinct bodies of work: armour for cats and mice, armour for executives, exoforms and space objects. According to Jeff:
“The distance between art and technology is beginning to not just close; it is beginning to merge. The emergence of the 3D printer has given individuals who would not normally consider themselves makers the power to create in three dimensions. Now that the masses can make anything, the big question will always be, ‘what is worth making?’
The idea is to demonstrate the collective power of individuals as links in an open source content generator. The sculpture can also be arranged over and over by different guest artists, each time generating a unique overall image.”
Tom Bielecki (24), James Thorne (22) and Kaz Walker (23) of Print-to-Peer, a local 3D printing startup, will provide the 3D printing expertise for the sculpture, and pitched to Awesome Calgary on behalf of the project.
“We’re able to take our artist’s vision and allow anyone in the world with this technology to be the sculptor. We’re excited to demonstrate the endless possibilities and limitless creativity of the community,” says Tom.
Awesome Calgary’s $1,000 no-strings-attached micro-grant will go towards the creation and construction of the frame needed to hold the pieces together and to transport the sculpture from one venue to another. This includes the materials, art and labour needed to build the frame.
The entire package will debut in Calgary this September as part of Calgary Mini Maker Faire and Beakerhead, September 14 and 15, 2013.
3D Printing enthusiasts around the world are encouraged to contribute. Interested parties can register at http://www.printtopeer.com/sculpture where they will be automatically assigned a customized piece of the sculpture, which they can further modify with any image. More technically inclined participants can also download a plain medallion and use computer-aided design software to customize it themselves. These pieces would then need to be mailed back to Calgary in time for inclusion in the sculpture’s debut in September.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.printtopeer.com/sculpture
Contacts:
Tom Bielecki
Co-Founder of PrintToPeer
tom@printtopeer.com
James Thorne
Co-Founder of PrintToPeer
james@printtopeer.com
Kaz Walker
Co-Founder of PrintToPeer
kaz@printtopeer.com
Reg Tiangha
Dean of Awesome, Awesome Foundation – Calgary
reg@awesomecalgary.org