New technologies for 3D realization in Art and Design practice

Walters, Peter; Thirkell, Paul

Abstract

As digital design technologies become ever more widespread, CAD-CAM, virtual and rapid prototyping techniques are increasingly being exploited by creative practitioners working in areas outside the industrial design and engineering contexts in which these technologies are currently predominantly employed. This review paper aims to critically examine work by artists, craft practitioners, and designer-makers who creatively engage with these new and rapidly emerging technologies and, by doing so, extend their own practice and push at the boundaries of art and design disciplines. Historic precedents for new 3D technologies in the fine and applied arts are identified, and writing by Heidegger, Baudrillard, and Virilio informs the critical review of work by art and design practitioners in sculpture, metalwork, jewellery, and ceramics. The discussion reflects on relationships between art and technology and physical and virtual making, and concludes by pointing to the possibility of new “hybrid” forms of practice which bridge the gap between physical and virtual design worlds. The paper closes by suggesting that the notion of “truth to materials” in the arts and crafts might now be extended to one of “truth to virtual materials”, as practitioners creatively negotiate relationships between digital cause and physical effect.

Citation

Walters, P., & Thirkell, P. (2007). New technologies for 3D realization in Art and Design practice. Artifact: Journal of Design Practice, 1(4), 232-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17493460801980016

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Apr 16, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 2, 2016
• Journal: Artifact
• Print ISSN: 1749-3463
• Publisher: Intellect
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 232-245
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17493460801980016
• Keywords: digital; hybrid; physical; prototyping; virtual; 3D scanning
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1034766
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17493460801980016
• Related Public URLs: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a794823632~db=all~order=page
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an electronic version of an article published in 'Walters, Peter and Thirkell, Dr Paul (2007) New technologies for 3D realization in Art and Design practice. Artifact, 1 (4). pp. 232-245'. Artifact is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/17493460801980016