This week, the focus of the class was on modeling and 3D printing. We were divided into groups where each group had to go to the teaching museum at Carleton at a specific time slot in order to photograph a particular object of art. Our group had to photograph the “Big Horse Red Saddle”. I took about 80 pictures of the horse from various angles, above, and below. The photos were imported into Autodesk ReCap Photo. The ultimate aim was to be able to make a 3D digital model of the horse as accurately as possible.
The process mentioned above is an example of photogrammetry, which Wikipedia defines as the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant imagery and other phenomena. Nowadays, advanced technological tools exist to achieve it. I looked at some of the websites that exhibit digitized models. For example, the Virtual Hampson Museum and the Smithsonian 3D. These models mesmerized me because of the huge amounts of details they offer. One can rotate the model, and zoom in and out to analyze it in ways that one can’t in a real museum. Sometimes, one can even see the inside of these models; in a museum, one would need to break the object to see what’s inside! Furthermore, in a museum, it can be difficult to concentrate on the object in front of us when we know we are being watched by other people. What’s even more remarkable is that we can 3D print the model, and therefore be able to use an additional sense: the sense of touch. As such, photogrammetry allows us to engage more deeply with the object and be able to communicate more details about the object.
However, we need to acknowledge some of the drawbacks that this digitization process entails, for instance it will never be 100 % accurate, and is not possible to feel the texture of the object when it is just a model on the screen. Even if we print the digital model and touch it, the feeling is not the same.
2 thoughts on “Reflective Blog Post Week 5”
Comments are closed.
Ryan I really appreciated your acknowledgments of the drawbacks of photogrammetry. I feel like often we can get so caught up in the latest technology that we fail to remember what we have already is pretty great. A question that comes to mind is: do you think that in museums (like the Perlman) if it was feasible would having a touch screen display of the object take away or add to the experience. I sort of think it would add to it. I’m conflicted though because on the other hand, a tech display could subtract from the overall museum experience. What are your thoughts?
Your comment about the texture really reminded me of the pros and cons of the digitization process. We do gain quite a few aspects of viewing the model and also lose some with digitization. I do think that digital representation takes away the feeling of groundedness that comes with the original artifacts. The original artifacts display some truth and history to them that have no parallel. I think it is okay to digitize artifacts as a contingency for when they degrade or get destroyed.