3D model of cosmowenman
The models were repaired and checked for printability.
From the British Museum's Parthenon collection
Acropolis, Athens, 438-432
...Plus BC
From the east pediment of the Parthenon
Scanned from the original marble in the British Museum August 2012 by Cosmo Wenman, using AutoDesk 123D Catch.
Edited for printing using Blender and Netfabb Studio Basic.
Printed life size in PLA on a MakerBot Replicator.
Finshed in Epic Bronze with Alternate Reality Patinas.
I made these pieces in an attempt to show that, with the right finishes and attention to detail, 3D printers can produce objects of art worthy of public and private display. Not just miniature figurines, or toys, or practical household objects, and not just prototypes. They can do more than evoke the desired object, they can be objects of desire.
But I chose these subjects in particular--elemental, archetypal museum pieces--to try to advance a different but complementary idea; that with 3D scanning and 3D printing, private collectors and museums have an unprecedented opportunity to recast themselves as living engines of cultural creation. They can digitize their three dimensional collections and project them outward into the public realm to be adapted, multiplied, and remixed.
They should do this because the best place to celebrate great art is in a vibrant, lively, and anarchic popular culture. The world's back catalog of art should be set free to run wild in our visual, and now tactile, landscape, and whether it turns up lit in pixels on our screens, rematerialized in our living rooms, or embedded in our architecture or clothing, it's all to the good.
I've sized the model at 83cm long, measured along its longest length. I believe this is 1:1 with the museum's marble, but I'd have to put a measuring tape on the original to be certain, and I'm sure that would just get me yelled at...
The loose .stl file is of the entire horse head, "decimated" by 50% so its file size is more managable. One of the .zip files contains the full resolution model, which has over 1 million triangles, which may be overkill - but that's how I roll :) The other .zip file contains the hi res model broken into 29 printable blocks, many of which are pretty large prints.
I printed the pieces in PLA, hollow, 4 shells thick, and with .28mm layer heights, and it took many days of continuous printing. I can't even remember how many days it took, and I can barely remember the days it took to bronze and patina it - it's all a blur.
Because these are large pieces, the slightest warping makes for big misalignments; assembling the pieces is no small task. If I were to print it again, I would recut the model into less block-like pieces - more like shells - and print them a bit thicker. At only four walls thick, the model's larger, flatter exterior walls are very sensitive to temperature - it can't be left in direct sunlight.
http://twitter.com/CosmoWenman
