Recently, I’ve worked to create a 3D model of an ancient Chinese model of a well, currently stored in the Perlman Teaching Museum. To do this, I took photos of the well from a variety of angles, then imported them into Autodesk ReCap Photo to create a model, which I touched up to remove background objects and improve the framing of the object. This has made me more curious about the well in a way that merely looking at it in a museum would not.
For example, the model created by ReCap Pro made the model appear hollow, with a layer of air in between the interior and exterior of the object because no photos of the object’s bottom were included. Noticing this led me to think about how the object would have been made, and how actual wells would have been built in this time. Another area that stood out to me in the model was the top of the well, where a circular object extruded from the roof. Noticing the way it stood out compared to the original model caused me to think about what this circular object was, maybe a bell of some sort, and why it would be important to include this in a well.
Ultimately, I think the process of modeling something helps start the process of inquiring more deeply about it, but this could be true of any process which requires close observation. At the same time, the benefits of 3D modeling for increasing accessibility of objects is undeniable, and large-scale modeling of architecture can help to not only start inquiring about buildings, but also recreate buildings which have been lost to history. In the end, engaging with objects in this way does make me more curious about the stories they tell, and the ways in which they were shaped by history
