The Metro Art Center at Rangoli is reportedly the first to publically display a 3D printed statue of Lord Ganesha. The statues were 3D printed by Stratasys’ strategic partner Altem Technologies to celebrate Ganesha Chathurthi.
Though technically it’s a 3D printed Ashtavinayaka or “eight Ganeshas” in Sanskrit. The Ganesha installation is inspired by eight Hindu temples in Maharashtra, India that house a series of Ganesha idols, each with their own unique histories and legends. The temples are holy sites that are part of a sacred pilgrimage — Ashtavinayaka yatratrip — and each must be visited in a specific order.
Altem Technologies started by 3D scanning a series of Ganesha idols, fine tuning the 3D models and then printing them, both with Stratasys FDM 3D printers and a higher quality resolution Polyjet 3D printer. The final installation is a large highly detailed Ganesha idol surrounded by the eight individual idols from the temples in Maharashtra.
“Lord Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, and as the god of intellect and wisdom. Being the god of beginnings, he is worshiped at the start of rituals and ceremonies,” explained Altem Founder and Director Prasad Rodagi. “3D Printing is a technology used right in the beginning of the engineering design cycle to overcome flaws in design & development of new products. Invariably, any product takes 3D printed form before taking its commercial avatar.”
Altem created the installation in celebration of Ganesha Chathurthi – the Hindu festival honoring Ganesha – and they announced the 3D printed installation with a hilariously, unintentionally, ominus video:
India has been slower than a lot of markets to adopt 3D printing, and while that is certainly changing there is still a lot of public educating on the technology to do. At over six feet tall and five feet wide, the complete Ganesha installation was created to highlight 3D scanning and 3D printing technology.
“We wanted to showcase this unique experience to tech savvy Bangaloreans & also Ganesha devotees under one roof.” Says Altem Technical Director Srinivas Shastry “Enthusiasts can explore technology behind it, while devotees can get a glimpse of the 12 avatars of the deity & take a mini Ashtavinayaka pilgrimage from this art gallery!”
Altem chose the Ganesha Chathurthi festival because it is one of the most widely celebrated in India, and is considered critical to many local economies. If you’re going to be in Bangalore during the festival you can visit the installation at Rangoli Metro Art Center between August 28th until September 7th.
