Sculpting virtual reality

[Candy]

Sculpting virtual reality: 3-D models offer new ways of seeing art
by Candy Stair

Computer scientists have constructed detailed, three-dimensional models of several sculptures, including Michelangelo’s “David.” Such models stretch the abilities of computers, and they can help art historians visualize works under various conditions.

The massive growth of all kinds of industries and technologies enabled artists to work with materials they could not have imagined earlier. The newest computer technology increasingly affects the creative work of artists and designers, wherein an artist sitting at a computer can paint pictures, design automobiles, or create animated movies.

Could technological art be ethical to create? Will “real art” be devalued? Is technical art really art?

Technological art follows an evolutionary path.

For as long as art has been made, artists have experimented with new materials. For thousands of years, the invention of art was slow. When people first made art, they drew with burnt sticks and soft rocks, and constructed works with natural materials such as shells, animal skins and feathers. As time went by, the invention of glass made jewelry less expensive and glazes became possible that made pottery waterproof. When mixtures of metals (alloys) were discovered, they were also used by artists. Artists cast and hammered metals into sculptures, and used them to make much-improved weapons as well as tools for carving wood and stone. Goldsmiths eventually learned to hammer gold so thinly enabling artists to enrich the surfaces of paintings, sculptures, buildings, pottery and manuscripts. Several centuries ago, paints were invented that dried hard. Perhaps the most powerful invention to affect art is photography, because nothing like it existed before. Photography altered art forever. Although over the centuries many new materials were invented that could be used in art, the greatest revolution in new materials began about 200 years ago as a result of the massive growth of all kinds of industries and technologies. The newest computer technologies increasingly affect the creative work of artists.

If anything, I would predict the value of real art increasing by allowing the masses to enjoy a replica of their favorite artists’ work. Only the original would be truly priceless. I see computer technology as the new paradigm of art.

“Carving these 3-D models out of virtual space is far from routine, says Brisson. It could be as long as a decade before the computing power to deal with these complicated computer models is readily available. Yet, these researchers suggest, it’s increasingly clear that this technology one day will shape not only the way people view art but also the way they interact with their world.”