Jan 22, 2018 | By Benedict
Emre Can, a research assistant at Anadolu University in Turkey, has created a range of 3D printed artworks as part of his doctoral thesis. Can told 3Ders about getting to grips with 3D printing, being inspired by Middle Eastern motifs, and understanding the “language of the machine.”
Ceramic 3D printing artist Emre Can
In the art world of the future, the 3D printer could become as common a tool for expression as the paintbrush. It’s a strange thought, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen: already we are seeing creative people from across the disciplines of art, design, and fashion utilizing additive manufacturing to realize their wildest ideas. The trend shows no signs of slowing down.
But until 3D printing becomes commonplace in art, it’s fascinating to see how the early adopters of the technology are getting to grips with it, and how they are incorporating its digital potential into traditional approaches to making art. For Emre Can, a ceramics expert with 16 years’ experience working with clay, the transition to 3D printing has been a surprisingly smooth one.
Can is currently a research assistant in the Ceramics Department of Anadolu University’s Faculty of Fine Arts. He’s a designer, a ceramic artist, and a lecturer, and has now taken up the 3D printing of ceramics as part of his doctoral thesis. In other words, the Bozüyük-born ceramicist could soon be at the forefront of this rapidly emerging field.
We spoke to Can about his current and future projects.
Middle East by Emre Can
How did you become involved with ceramic 3D printing? What inspired you?
I had an interest Computer Aided Design before I started using a 3D printer. When researching for my thesis I saw a video about ceramic 3D printing on the internet, and I saw that I could make some designs that I couldn’t make by hand—or I could, but it would take a lot of time. With a 3D printer I could make some designs in a really short time.
After that, I decided to choose “How can we use Ceramic 3D Printing as a shaping method in ceramic art” as the subject of my doctoral thesis.
My first experience with ceramic 3D printing was in the Unfold Studio with Dries Verbruggen, and I saw in time that we can make a lots of things with a ceramic 3D printer. If ceramic artists are able to use this technology correctly, I think 3D ceramic printers could have a different meaning in the hands of each ceramic artist in the future.
Seljuk series by Emre Can
What 3D printer did you use for your projects? Which 3D design software do you use most?
I use as Delta Wasp 20x40 3D printer. As a design software I usually use Unigraphics NX.
Could you describe your artistic approach to 3Ders readers?
Nature surrounding us has both a material and intuitive feeling and an internal structure that affects us. The effects that these structures have on us are the most important factors affecting me. While nature is so natural, digital is so unnatural.
My goal is to transform the artificial forms from a machine into an organic structure with different touches, to capture the opposition between artificial and organic, and to deform the ceramic structures produced by a machine to reveal new forms.
I was also inspired by the Seljuk star, which is a traditional motif in the Seljuk [an Oghuz Turk Sunni Muslim dynasty], as well as by optical effects and life in the Middle East, particularly people and children who lost their homes in the wars.
What's your favorite work of yours?
My favorite work is Middle East because it contains many emotions. I’m planning to make an entire series from it.
Binary Shatter Structure by Emre Can
What has been the most difficult problem to solve in your experience with ceramic 3D printing?
It was all too hard form me until I was able to solve the language of the machine. But now we know each other very well! Now I can control some deterioration caused from the machine, and sometimes I can use this deterioration as a texture on my works.
What’s next and what are you working on now?
I’m planning to make the Middle East series, and I’m working on how I can rework individual pieces after shaping them with the machine. I’m also planning to try shattering pieces after shaping them. These processes will produce artistic touches and I think will give me opportunity to stamp my emotions on my work for my audience.
Explore Emre Can’s collection of 3D printed ceramic artwork here.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
Maybe you also like:
- Watch this 3D printed piano-playing robot jam with its violinist creator
- Texas hobbyist's 3D printed crystal radio works without a battery or external power source
- New Zealand research project explores new design directions for future 3D printed prosthetics
- Finland's Patria completes maiden flight of Hornet fighter aircraft with 3D printed engine part
- 3D printed reactionware brings us closer to print-at-home drugs
- RUN2RAIL exploring 3D printing & carbon fiber composites for lighter, more comfortable trains
- Sculptors use 3D printed skulls to reconstruct faces of unidentified US-Mexico border victims
- World's first 3D printed toilets by Hamilton Labs could wipe out India's sanitation problems
- Swiss team pioneers compact low-power laser 3D printing technique, with potential for surgical use
- Arconic & Vader Systems 3D printing projects receive DOE HPC4 funding
- AeroJet Rocketdyne & NASA successfully test-fire RS-25 engine with 3D printed components
- South African maker Tom van den Bon successfully completes 365-day 3D printing challenge
emre... love the work... but please... stay at lfc... we need you...
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
