Jun 21, 2016 | By Faith
Very rarely is a new medium introduced into the realms of creative practice. From paint to stone to code, artists use materials relevant to their themes and research to create some kind of visual output – and the new ways in which work can be created through 3D printing are extensive, varied, and to many still very much unknown.
Whilst contemporary sculpture has employed 3D printing extensively over the last few years, the other ways in which this new medium can be manipulated by creatives are often overlooked. The 3D scanning and 3D printing of priceless masterpieces to create figuratively identical replicas has inspired a shift / new perspective within the art industry, but there are a number of similar processes which deal with the visual in a very different way.
One such process is the 3D printing of low-relief images as a ‘plaquette’. In much the same way as one might print out a flat copy of a photograph, the work of Easy 3D and their most recent visual offering – named 3Dism – 3D prints photographs as a textured relief. Made with either PLA or ABS as a standard, layered print option, 3Dism offers a new way to reproduce images that extend into the third dimension rather than remaining completely flat. Through this use of subtle plane shifts, photographs in particular can be recreated as a tangible object rather than just a flat image – and it’s a product with a reasonable amount of commercial potential.
A key strength with 3D printing as a general medium is its ability to easily personalise an object to cater for a specific individual. The visual arts as a sector is no different in this way: from gifts to commemorative items and objects, there is a growing consumer demand for one-off pieces that relate directly to the buyer’s life. Through this use of customisation in the creation of gifts and visual art objects, 3D printing not only extends its creative application options, but also extends its ability to connect to the personal lives of those using it to create.
Based in Bulgaria, Easy3D is a start-up who offer a number of different services beyond their new 3Dism plaquette printing. From 3D scanning to consulting to 3D modelling, the company provides a well-rounded ecosystem of 3D printing technology support, and with both B2B and B2C products, it’s clear that 3D printing (as an emerging technology) is becoming more and more commonplace in everyday society. From the preservation of cultural monuments through to the designing of industrial part and processes, 3D printing as a medium continues to extend across a number of sectors – and the development of 3Dism only stands as testimony to a market which demands its use. The creation of visual arts objects offers artists and art consumers alike a new perspective with which to create, and it should come as no surprise that this contemporary style has been development through the use of contemporary techniques.
From the likes of Andy Warhol’s two dimensional pop-art references through to the ancient reliefs carved in stone from millennia gone by, 3Dism’s proposal of including 3D printing in a world story of art looks likely to succeed.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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