Case Study:
Project for a New American Century at the Whitney Museum of American Art
a sculpture series collaboration with
Josh Kline
The Challenge:
Josh Kline needed sculptures made from 3D scans of people and objects with a unique goal in mind. We had to first clean up the very rough and messy scans to make them look pristine, and then we had to remix the color, detail and texture of the scans: placing the texture of a bottle on the face of the woman using it for example.
Solving this required deep artistic and technical skill. I had to re-sculpt messy and missing parts of the scans in a way that was physically accurate and artistically aligned with Josh’s goals.
I pioneered new techniques for extracting color and texture from one object and applying them to other objects in a way that allowed for maximum editability and refinement.
Additionally, some pieces required creating new elements inspired by the details of other objects. Like the brush bristles on the shoe bottom for example.
In addition to the artistic challenge, the pieces required precision engineering for final fabrication:
Color management: Color in 3D printing isn’t as predictable as color 2D printing, so test prints were needed to dial in correct hue, value and saturation
Consistent Sizing: Every piece was sized consistently for a uniform series.
Precise Cuts: Some parts were too big to 3D print in one piece, so I intelligently split objects along natural seams so that they could be reassembled cleanly.
Optimized Wall Thickness: I carefully balanced wall thickness to reduce material costs while ensuring structural strength.