The image of a sculptor assessing a chunk of marble prior to chipping away with his or her chisel is now accompanied by new technology, some of which allows for the artist to see images onscreen before creating
a piece.
The Ohio University School of Art has added new technologies to its repertoire, such as the newly acquired 3D printer and CNC router. The recently adopted tools allow for experimentation in fields such as OU’s highly ranked ceramics department.
This kind of technology use is exemplified in the Trisolini Gallery’s latest exhibition, “Machine Botany,” featuring the works of artist Del Harrow, an assistant professor of art at Colorado State University. He has also been a guest professor at OU.
The title of the exhibition, Harrow said, is meant to show the contrast between what one thinks in regard to machine products and the scientific field of botany.
“Botany is about observing plant forms, which is almost the opposite of what we would associate with machines, with a lot of diversity and intricacy,” Harrow said.
All the work in the exhibition uses some combination of computer-controlled techniques and traditional techniques, he said.
OU has been working with Harrow for the past year to plan the exhibition, which will be on display until the end of November.
The process Harrow goes through to create his art involves flipcasting, which means creating a model through the computer that then goes to a CNC router that assists in carving out a plastic cast. The artist then fills the cast to create the piece.
This fall, the School of Art acquired both a 3D printer and a CNC machine, which allows for students to experiment with this technology.
“Bringing (Harrow) is exciting knowing we got some of the technology he uses,” said Kyla Strid, a third-year graduate student studying ceramics. “I think there’s a lot of interesting work from the graduate students, the undergrads and some of the faculty even that hybridizes pretty sophisticated technology with what you would maybe call ‘dumb’ technology.”
Harrow said that this “hybridization” is what motivates his creations.
“I’m really interested in things where the form is generated in the computer, but in order to get it into the world, you have to use (your own ability),” Harrow said. “There’s a lot of opportunity to accumulate a lot more information, all of the little details.”
Carlos Pacheco, a graduate assistant at OU who assists in managing the Trisolini Gallery, said these kinds of developments have been utilized throughout time to create different types of art.
“I don’t think there has been an increase in the use of technology in the art world,” Pacheco said. “I think what is considered technology has changed. At its inception, the camera was new technology to be utilized in art, the same way computers are now.”
Strid, who worked closely with Harrow on the exhibition and acted as a liaison between the gallery and the ceramics department, said that considering how to use these kinds of new technologies is something that is important as an artist.
“In today’s world,” Strid said, “as an artist or a maker of things, it’s really interesting to think how you can bring together the old processes and technologies and mix them and utilize new technologies.”
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