Computational Sculpture Former to 3D Print

Prosthetic Knowledge Picks in an article - published on Rhizome on September 3rd, 2014 - briefly discusses the computational sculpture history. This article is from ongoing series of themed collections of creative project publishing by Prosthetic Knowledge. The article is not too long but long enough to cover important aspects of the early computational sculpture practice and to show us how artists got to explore the possibilities and potentials of the software designing in their sculptural practice, which later leads to invention of 3D prints.

The article refers to latest 3D prints which are getting popular and reminds us that they are not actually brand new. 3D prints are the latest generation of computational sculptures that have being produced since 60s. The artist who pioneered computational sculptures in his country on 1966 is Zdeněk Sýkora , a Czechoslovakian artist who is apparently the first artist who pioneered using

computer to produce art. 

"In 1964, Sykora collaborated with mathematician Jaroslav Blazek to create visual computer-aided structures which used algorithms to find different combinations of abstract elements within predefined parameters. The result echoed the aesthetics of Op Art, yet his methods were his own. Then around 1973 he abandoned structural work and began to make paintings characterized by clusters of interwoven lines. These lines - everything from their hue, length, thickness, curve, direction—were determined by a computer program that mixed equal parts randomness and precise mathematics."

 Zdenek Sykora - Topological Structures, 1969

Structure Sinusoidal, 1965

Robert Mallary is American artist who was also among the first artists who took advantage of software design skills to make his sculptures. Below images are from Mallary's Quad series (1969).

 Robert Mallary - Quad IV (1970). Laminated slabs of computer-determined marble.

 Robert Mallary - Quad II, 1968. 711⁄2 x 11 in. TRAN2 computer sculpture in laminated veneer.

The article then briefly explain how early computational sculptures have been gone through the process: 

"If a computer is to make sculpture, it must be given either a comprehensive numerical description of the basic material it is to work with, or the means to generate this material for itself. In fact, our TRAN2 program does both, using contour “slicing” as the basic method of form description and form generation. In effect, the form is sliced—much as an apple or a chunk of baloney might be sliced—into a series of thin cross sections of equal thickness which can then be graphed, digitized and encoded on computer punch cards. It is also essential that each of the slices has an axis point to position it relative to all the other slices on the vertical axis. It is by means of this “stacking” of two-dimensional data that the program converts standard computer graphic capabilities to the requirements of three-dimensional form description." 

The other artists leading in the field are Isa Genzken, Nicolas Negroponte, Jose Luis Alexanco, and Ron Resch.
Isa Genzken uses computer to produce wooden sculptures that keep the balance through one (or few) connection point to their leaning surface. For example her wooden sculpture series called Ellipsoides which have contact to the floor only on one point have been made from designed template on a computer.

Grün-orange-graues Hyperbolo "El Salvador," 1980.

Computerzeichnung (Computer Drawing) (1976). Dot-matrix printout on continuous paper, 14 3⁄4 × 172 7/16" (lost).

"Seek is an installation by artist Nicholas Negroponte in collaboration with the Marchitecture Machine Group, originally debuting at the "Software" exhibition (1970) at the Jewish Museum in New York. The installation consists of several gerbils inhabiting an enclosed space filled with blocks that are arranged and rearranged by a robotic arm. As the computer manipulates the environment, in a sense, the piecee becomes a sort of Minecraft for rodents."

Jose Luis Alexanco - Escultura MOUVNT, 1972.

 Spanish artist, Jose Luis Alexanco, uses computer algorithm to plan the design of his layered sculptures. Below we can see the program code being used in Alexanco's 3D forms of human body.

This Ukrainian-style rotating Easter egg made by Ron Resch in 1973 was the first public sculpture designed with 3D design software.

Having all these said, we can see how late technology of 3D print owe to the earlier practice of artists who dared to took the time and effort to use computer in their sculpture and installation practices. I always have this in my mind that there's no innovation all of a sudden and out of the blue, the innovations that happen in some points of human life are actually taking some former people's explorations and trials in the field to the next level.

nazanin
September 2014

Reference:
Rhizome, Sep 3rd 2014, Prosthetic Knowledge Pick: Computational Sculpture Before 3D Printing, web
<http://rhizome.org/editorial/2014/sep/3/prosthetic-knowledge-picks-computational-sculpture/?ref=fp_post_title>