3D Printing Art Installation Brings New Meaning to Classical Literature

Artists and designers often turn to 3D printing art because it offers a new level of freedom, creativity and a nearly endless array of possibilities for articulating a vision.

A perfect example of this is local artist Emily Biondo who recently reimagined an interactive exhibit with the help of SolidWorks design software and a Stratasys uPrint SE Plus.

We helped Emily make her vision a reality by designing and printing some key pieces for Headspace (Translation Series), an interactive installation now showing at the 2015 Katzen Art Center Alumni Exhibition at American University.

We talked with Emily about the concept behind her installation and how 3D printing helped her create an exhibit that compels viewers to experience classical literature in a completely new way.

 

Amtek: Tell us about the exhibit Headspace (Translation Series).

Emily Biondo: Headspace is an interactive installation that discusses the changing nature of language. Users must wear a headset and handset to fully experience the work. There are tomes of classical literature lining the walls. With the handset, users can swipe highlighted passages in each tome and hear a contemporary ‘translation’ of the passages using millennial vocabulary. The head and handset acts as a bizarre app to read and understand each classical work, relating technology to more traditional forms of education and communication.

Amtek: What was your design process like for this installation?

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EB: For each project, I always come up with a concept first along with a technology to explore. For this installation I wanted to study RFID Readers as a medium. I found a Make project online called Charlie’s RFID Teddy Bear, and decided to modify the bear’s actions to create my installation. With my preliminary research complete, I decided to play with the aspects of millennial culture that are most recognizable–the vocabulary and the use of/need for technology. I wanted to design a makeshift device that was recognizable and a bit less sleek than the commonly used devices of today (Kindles, iPads, iPhones, etc.) In creating the translations, I knew I would need a means of hearing them (the headset) and a means of playing them (the glove/handset). I attached them together to streamline the interaction and provided instructions for how to use the device (this is usually a sticking point in most interactive works, as no action the artist wants the user to experience is truly intuitive).

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Amtek: How did 3D printing affect the design process of the installation? How does it affect the viewer’s experience with the installation?

EB: I had previously exhibited Headspace at Harford Community College, and at the time mocked up the headset and handset as a fabric-wrapped set of headphones and plastidipped glove with a metal cord holder to attach them. This solution, while effective, had a few flaws–it was not particularly durable (which is a must in wearable interactive pieces) and did not have the technological aesthetic I wanted for the installation.

3D printing solved both of these issues. The parts that Amtek printed are simple and effective–users have less chance of breaking the pieces because they easily screw/attach to one another. The tube used to attach the two devices, while not 3D printed, was better outfitted to last because it was pressure-fitted into each piece.

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Additionally, the headset and handsets, along with the book holders, have a uniform look that aligns itself with an almost sterile technological aesthetic. This helps the user focus on the relationship between the classic literature on the walls and its technological foil, the headset/handset. The sleek functionality of the wearable devices also allows users to focus on that relationship.

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Amtek: What is the one thing you’d like viewers to take away with them from experiencing this installation?

EB: I’d like them to think about the evolution of our language and our means of communication. While art always has a unique meaning to each user, my main intention is for each user to be compelled enough to try on a headset, to react to the translation (maybe laugh, maybe think, etc.), and to consider the opposing ideas of ‘manual’ reading vs. an easy technological ‘swipe’ across the page. Above all, I’d just like viewers to spend time with the installation!

Headspace (Translation Series) can be viewed at the 2015 Katzen Art Center Alumni Exhibition at American University in Washington, D.C. through April 30^th