Meet the 3D Printed Pieces of Happiness
Today we are moving to the picturesque Thailand, but this time we are not going to focus on beautiful landscapes. Instead we want to show you a sculpture, which is really unique when it comes to its form and motion.
Pieces of Happiness zoetrope
Zoetrope Made on Zortrax
Apart from the fact that it was head to toe a 3D printed construction, the sculpture is interesting in a away that it produces the effect of motion. How this could be possible? Well, as probably most of you are familiar with the stroboscope and the visual effect it gives, maybe not everyone knows what exactly is the zoetrope. It’s simply a kind of device that appears in a form of a cylindrical box or an “open” sculpture that is put in motion. Thanks to both movement and appropriate way the strobe light is shed onto the figures they create a tantalizing view of living creatures.
Art that Shows Appreciation
But lets move from the technical details into more artistic ones. As we can see each level of the sculpture consists of a male figure showed performing different activities, starting from these connected with sport and playing with animals to more artistic like playing the instrument or making photos. The man in the sculpture is actually the late king of Thailand and his favorite pastimes. Thanks to the technique that creates the illusion of motion the viewers can see him as if he were alive, indulging himself in his favorite hobbies.
Elements of the zoetrope still on printing rafts
Long Live the King
As the postmodern art can have various different functions, apart from the decorative one, the role of the Witaya’s piece is slightly different. The artist claims that when it comes to his sculptures the main area of focus is the interaction. The way that the audience can experience the art not only by seeing but also by touching and playing with the items. This time the art piece ad a special meaning to the Thai people who were in a deep sorrow after the death of their king. By giving them the opportunity to interact with the “Piece of Happiness” he found a perfect way to honor the memory of the king and at the same time provide the viewers with artistic sensation.
The Detail Makes the Difference
Asked about the creative process, the artist Witaya Junma explains that it was in fact a whole lot easier with the assistance of a 3D printer. As his artistic path started with entering the university of Chiang Mai and expressing his ideas on paper, he soon found the limitations of this particular medium. Howewer, his first attempts with 3D printing technology were far from successful, he didn’t give up. After his first “interaction” with the Zortrax 3D printer he started to believe that he is able to use this technology to create precise models with smooth surface.
Details of the 3D printed zoetrope
Go Big with Your Dreams
When the idea of creating a zoetrope sculpture had planted in his mind he already knew that he is going to use Zortrax device as a tool. Just to add, he found the perfect moment as because he required some larger sized pieces and was really focused on time, the Zortrax M300 was already available on the market to meet his needs. The artist spent 3 months on completing his sculpture by 3D printing most of the elements, and using the resin cast technique to prepare some minor pieces. After having all the items he polished the surface to make it extra smooth and started connecting the elements.
Witaya Junma working in FabCafe
Beauty Meets Technology
As the artist claims, the result of 3d printing was “beyond his expectations” and helped him to optimize his work and save time on producing series of similar elements. Compared to the traditional ways of sculpting, preparing such art piece would take approximately a year to finish. As the artist didn’t resign of the manual ways of making sculptures, he stresses that he is even more enthusiastic about the new projects knowing that he has got such a powerful tool of creation that in a way links the beauty of creation with the latest technology.
Artist painting the moving sculpture