Cosmo Wenman is a man with a dream. His dream is to allow anyone who has ever wanted a sculpture that can only be found in a museum or a gallery the chance to have one.
In May 2012 he proved his point by taking photos into Autodesk 123D Catch, he created a mesh of Venus Reclining on a Sea Monster with Cupid and a Putto by CosmoWenman and made the resulting model available for free on the diverse and vast model repository, Thingiverse, which just recently reached the 100,000 ‘Things’ milestone, but the way.
Over the last year he has been 3D scanning pieces in museums in Europe and the US and using those scans he has created files that anyone can use to print life-size or reduced reproductions of those very treasures.
“It’s a chance to spread faithful reproductions of treasured artwork far beyond the walls of elite palaces,” says Wenman.
He has since produced proofs of concept and demonstrations by 3D scanning and 3D printing works from sites including; The British Museum in London and The Louvre in Paris.
Up till now his work has been produced solo, almost casually, walking into museums scanning what was available. But this work requires time, full access, and getting up close to the sculptures.
Recently, The Skulpturhalle Basel museum in Switzerland has allowed him access and permission to scan the sculptures he wishes, and to share the 3D designs without any restrictions.
Of course a project like this requires months of time and effort to scan and edit the resulting meshes. So to fund this new form of art patronage, Wenman has turned to what is fast becoming 3D printing’s ‘go-to’ VC firm, Kickstarter.
As Cosmo points out, “I’ve been successfully experimenting with this stuff for over a year. But now, to do it on this scale, I need your support.”
At the time of writing the project is off to a good start but certainly needs a few more patrons. So if you are an art lover or an advocate of 3D printing technologies in the arts and in education, have a look at the Kickstarter page here.
If you need a bit more convincing, check out Cosmo’s Thingiverse page to see his work for real – it is very impressive!.
