"Reproduction should make it easier to connect our experience of art directly with other experience." —John Berger's Ways of Seeing

Inspiration

As part of my work as a MediaLab intern, I created an educational booklet about fundamental 3D-printing processes, **3D Printing Booklet for Beginners**, which will help the Met's staff and visitors to better understand how to create and print 3D models with 123D Catch and other open-source software. The booklet was designed to build on the MediaLab's practice of helping audiences use 3D models of objects in the Met's collection for their own creative purposes. There are three main chapters in my booklet—Scanning, Modeling, and Printing—as well as some examples of how to create a new art project inspired by reproduction art, an idea I got from John Berger's Ways of Seeing.

My project is featured on Met Digital Underground blog and ShapeWay blog
 

The Booklet

3D Printing Booklet for Beginners was designed to make 3D scanning, modeling, and printing accessible to people of all ages, regardless of technical background. It therefore makes extensive use of simple graphics and images to explain the multistep process.

Conclusion

The Met's MediaLab is a playground of technology which allowed me to experiment with both art and technology. I have learned a great deal, and feel like I've achieved the goals I set for myself before beginning my internship. I received incredibly useful feedback from my target audience at the MediaLab Intern Expo, who were motivated to dive deeper into 3D printing after my presentation, despite initially thinking it was a very difficult concept. Moving forward, I will continue to improve upon my project in the hopes of creating a one-day workshop at the Met for people who are interested in learning basic 3D printing, and what this new technology can do to enhance their exploration of art in the Museum.