Design and the Elastic Mind

Design and the Elastic Mind is the name of a new exhibit to open in February at New York City's MOMA. The exhibit will feature the work of Finnish designer Janne Kyttänen, who is one of the founders of Freedom of Creation, a firm we've posted on previously. The exhibit runs from February 24th through May 12th 2008. Kyttänen's approach is to employ modern fabbing techniques to produce amazing works of art.

Via FreedomOfCreation and sfilate.com

Generator.X 2.0 Photos

We came across a large (270 photo) and truly amazing collection of photos taken from the recent Generator.X 2.0 event. While not all exhibits were created with 3D printing, all used modern fabbing techniques.

Via Flickr

3D Printing Replaces Sculpting?

We think it will. And so do some of the participants discussing the idea at CGSociety.org, the Society of Digital Artists. A recent forum post by RobertoOrtiz, Forum Leader, asks:

I been wondering lately if the advent of cheap 3d scanners and advanced tools to handle scanned 3d data will allow for a renaissance of the old fashioned Model/Creature shop.

and

Of course if sculpting/ model building makes a comeback thanks to new 3d methods, it would be REALLY ironic, since ease of cg was the root cause for their original demise.

DIscussion ensued, and two points of view emerged:

I would rather stick my hands in a nice cool chunk of earthware anyday of the week than fool with "intersecting faces" and "keeping the topology clean".

and

It is much faster to alter a concept pic design in zbrush than in a real sculpture.So it is better for sculpting work even if you are working off someone else's drawing.

So it seems to us that one of the barriers to a 3D future is the ease of use of software. When large portions of users must resort to "cool chunks of earthware", there's clearly something wrong with our software.

Via CGSociety.org

OptoIsolator

Ok, we admit this is only marginally related to 3D printing, but it is interesting enough that we thought we'd point it out to readers. It's a work of art that includes a mechanical eyeball that literally follows you as you move near the exhibit. What's the 3D print connection? The black case was printed on a FDM 3D printer.

Via Gizmodo

Generator X 2.0 Revisited

Remember back to early December? We posted about the GeneratorX 2.0 workshop, an exhibition of designer works who used various digital fabrication techniques to produce amazing items.

ArtDaily reports on a presentation entitled "Beyond the Screen", where participants from the GeneratorX 2.0 workshop will show their works.

As we've suggested many times before: there are an infinite number of uses for fabbing. Some will become popular, and it definitely seems like art will become one of the primary uses.

Via ArtDaily.com

3D Vase with a Difference

In the past we've posted on specific and unusual objects printed using 3D print technology. This is another one - with a slight difference. This object, the Kisos flower vase can be purchased! Yes, the maker, Umamy, offers a limited run of these beautiful vases for sale on eBay at a cost of USD$400 each. According to Umamy, Kisos is:

A limited addition flower vase created and designed specifically for 3d printing, the kisos vase utilizes the new technology of stereolithography to innovate and create human made products which have nature like qualities.
The Kisos vase was presented in the Israel museum as part of group exhibition "dream makers" in 2006.

Via Umamy.com and eBay

Electric Light Shoe

Freedom of Creation is at it again - this time creating an astonishing 3D shoe for a Japanese marketing campaign. The project was quite complex, as one can see from the incredible detail in the shoe object. From the press release:

After seeing the concept from StawberryFrog, Janne Kyttanen and Mads Thomsen conceived a microcosm that features an astounding visual impact: an endless flow of multi-sensorial stimuli that reproduces and simultaneously deconstructs and reinvents the unmistakable outline of the Onitsuka Tiger shoe. The apparent visual unity of the project encloses an incredible iconic succession of Japanese urban culture. One part of the shoe magically transforms into a landing strip for jets, while the Onitsuka Tiger distinguishing side bands become highways that lead to an imaginary world of exceptional magnificence and intricacy.

Be sure to watch the "making of" video, read the press release and watch the final commercial. Magnificent work, FOC!

Via FreedomOfCreation

More Acoustical Objects

Architectradure reports on yet another experiment with sound making devices produced by 3D printing technology, following up on our recent acoustical post. In this experiment, designer and engineer Amit Zoran has produced a unique guitar by assembling parts designed with software and produced by a 3D printer. Using specialized software, Zoran designed chambers suitable for optimal production of sounds, as can be seen in the picture above.

With the discovery of at least two experimenters in 3D print acoustics recently, it appears that sound may indeed be another area of interest for 3D printing. While some may say that current 3D print technology produces only fragile objects, it is clear that there are still many uses for these objects.

Via Architectradure