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In the age of digital ornamentation

Project Snake was featured in the art gallery section of SIGGRAPH 2003 in San Diego. Snake expressed architectural art in the form of machine-milled sculptural rendering of visceral 3D data models produced with Alias Maya.These sculptures were processed out of medium density fiberboard. The sculptures were reminiscent of relief ornamentation in the form of wall-hung panels. A decorative layer was achieved on the surface of the relief by changing the setup size of the tool path pattern. A characteristic difference came about that in the aesthetics of the physical model did not feature in the virtual environments of Alias MAYA. Project Snake was an experiment in viewing architectural art as a product of collaboration between architect/artist and rapid prototyping machine technology. The models were particular moments in the evolution of animated structures derived and developed on the organic movements of the snake. The impact of rapid prototyping technology was tremendous as it made a leap from ‘how?’ to ‘wow!’ Quoting from my project brief “...matter and imagination spoke the same language.” The marriage between 3D software technology and rapid prototyping technology brought about a new complexity – a new paradigm shift in scale and texture in this age of digital ornamentation.Thus, the artist finds an inimitable collaborator in the machine. The project took another leap.This time it utilized stereolithography as its model for tangible expression. The digital data was kept the same, but the results were refreshingly different. Stereolithography is an additive process (as opposed to the previous CNC process which was subtractive in nature).The virtual form was processed through software that chops the model up into thin layers.The 3D printer’s laser “painted” one of the layers, exposing the liquid plastic in the tank and hardening it. This process repeated, layer by layer, until the model was complete. This process presented a new dimension to the Snake research, both artistically and technologically. Surface was now being constructed through addition and the layer of decoration/ornamentation was closer to the virtual counterpart. The resin material itself gravitates towards the visceral side of virtual form. When the two sculptures are put together, both traditional and mutant materials share an intricate dialogue. Digital ornamentation does not focus on the theme of machine art. Rather, it examines the role of complexity – not from a design perspective or art sensibility – but from the emerging awareness of crafts in this day and age. Form, material, technique and art/design are all placed in conversation. This alchemy, which has shades of architect Louis Sullivan’s design principles of reconciling the world of nature with science and technology, produces a rigor that displaces disciplinary limits between art, architecture and design.This reinforces the idea that ornamentation infuses cohesion and continuity into disparate systems. SIGGRAPH is a fertile venue for artists such as myself, who are constantly digging deep into the field of technological innovations in the digital arena to find new tools for expression.The conference event presents an unparallel opportunity to artists, designers, academics and manufacturers not just to showcase their project, artworks or products, but also serves as a platform where one learns, networks and expands.