Re-creating Faces out of Garbage: Where Art and Science Meet

I'm just going to leave this here....

http://inhabitat.com

3D-Printed faces from found DNA samples? ?!

Heather Dewey-Hagborg (artist) began collecting DNA samples from random trash in public spaces throughout New York City in 2012. Cigarette butts, chewed gum, and strands of hair were collected- all items left behind without much, if any, thought.

You can read/look in further detail on her portfolio website.

This artwork brings up bigger issues to think about.

1. Could this use of technology be of use in the crime-fighting world? If so, could this escalate into larger areas of concern- a Dystopian nightmare? Or, would this be overall beneficial to society if used in this way?

2. Are there any ethical concerns with re-constructing the faces of strangers without consent, or is this public commons and fair game?

3. Could this be of use in other areas of science? Learning more about ancestors or giant creatures from thousands of years ago? (Oh, wait.)

What other concerns or phenomena could this process bring relevancy to?

Dewey-Hagborg states that this is an ongoing project- I can't wait to see more! Nice work.

3D Printing Explained by ASAP Science

Want to learn about 3D printing in a nutshell, but don't want to spend your life sifting through news articles? Here you go! (Thanks to one of my favourite Youtube channels)

Innovative and Interactive Learning with Google

This is Old(er) News, but I Forgot this Exists!

The Google Art Project is a part of the Google Cultural Institute, a website dedicated to making arts and culture more accessible- that is, collections and displays and projects are online, where anyone with an internet connection can visit.

Google believes that by providing these tools and resources digitally will "engage students, scholars and teachers through innovative and interactive learning." 

I believe it. With the Google Art Project, you can create your own galleries of work from pieces across the world. There are tools for those taking tough Art History courses (maybe I'll use these as an Art History Teaching Assistant and Art History fanatic ;).

The Google Cultural Institute works and partners directly with museums, cultural institutions, and archives, so it is not just another Google Search page.

In the "Explore" section of the Google Art Project you can choose from multiple categories, which you can combine if you're stuck on the name of a work you want to learn more about (or a specific categorized piece that you just really need for a biased art history paper).
I'll have to put this feature to the test in the upcoming months.

Below, the vid' that reminded me in the first place:

(or click this hyperlink: Art Project- How to Use the Site )

Another Interesting 3-wait, 4-D Project?!

It's called 4-D printing, and the fourth dimension in this case is time. Here's how it works: A 3-D printer with extremely high resolution uses materials that can respond to outside stimuli, like heat or light, as ink. The resulting structure can change, move or even assemble itself after it's been printed.

(Siner, 2013)

Check it Out. 

Hey! Art/Museum Games

I just came across this tonight....

Do I want to play games (like matching, puzzles, etc) all about art?

Heck yes, I do.

Check out games with the Getty!

3D Printers: A Tool for Building Homes Efficiently?!?

This just in (yesterday, in fact)! :

Khoshnevis of Contour Crafting has plans to create machines that can build 2,500 square-foot homes in as little as 20 hours! This machine will use a form of 3D printing. (He already has prototypes & a TEDtalk).

Overall, this way of building seems rather efficient. The costs of production is decreased using this technology (financing building materials, decreasing CO2 emissions created and energy used)...however, the amount of manual labor is also decreased, which means fewer people are needed to work it.

He wishes to use this process of building for poorer areas where shelter is problematic. On the Contour Crafting website, he even mentions using this on other planets (because Earth's going to deteriorate sometime- thanks, humans). This way, shelter can be created in a very short amount of time-and lots of it, too. Imagine, Contour Crafting as a way to quickly create shelter for survivors of natural disaster (Hurricane Katrina, for instance?).

Decreasing the physical labor required for building homes is a controversial part of the project. Will this put millions of people out of work? Should this technology only be used for special projects? Will the benefits out-weigh the negatives?

Check. It. Out.

Discovering 3D Printing: New Hope

3D Printing is "all the rage" this season.

As a part of the 3D Printing team this semester, paired with the Art Institute of Chicago, it is my team's job to benchmark and learn more about the potential of this technology.

I may have mentioned before that I didn't really understand the overall purpose of 3D printing (as in, why did my alma mater randomly decide to invest in one?).

Reading an article on NPR this morning, I at first saw nothing new. The title of the piece, 3-D Printing A Master Work For Your Living Room, did not seem promising. However, the author steps in and redeems herself at the last minute. By making "patterns" of artwork available online (in this case, detailed images of sculptures, an individual (anywhere!) with access to a 3D printer can make sculptures available for viewing no matter the locale. This raises potential for distance learning. Experiencing an object in 3D is more real to life than simply looking at an image.

How much more could you get out of seeing Rodin's The Thinker or Michelangelo's David in 3D replica than you could from an image in a textbook? There is potential for a new kind of learning that one could once only get from visiting a museum- something that is not always possible for the average Jean, Jill, or Joe.

How could this form of learning experience be used in other ways, outside of art?

Need some patterns for your 3D experience? Check this out: http://www.thingiverse.com/