Sunday, April 27, 2014

Contemp Art '14 Conference - Digital Wabi-Sabi - Exploring the Values of 'Imperfection' in CAD/CAM Based Making of Artifacts...



The Contemp Art '14 Conference in Istanbul has now concluded… It was a great pleasure to attend, hear many a worthy presentation, and meet interesting individuals, from all around the world.

Included below is my submission abstract:

Digital Wabi-Sabi - Exploring the Values of 'Imperfection' in CAD/ CAM Based Making of Artifacts

Author: Thomas Modeen PhD

Abstract

There's something tactile, seductive, almost endearing about some of the process-based 'failures' or mistakes that occasionally occur in something fabricated through digital means. Such faux-pas are seldom acknowledged, or are quickly brushed under the carpet, in most discussions relating to things made through either subtractive, additive, or even formative methods of CAD based making. The CAD-CAM (Buildware) methods are, after all, supposed to bring forth a new dawn of projects and work that allow and provide means for artists, architects and designers to retain control of their work from conception to conclusion, and do so through an optimized process in which logistical faults, omissions and inaccuracies are minimized, if not removed. For most of us who use such means daily, however, the 'misprints' are the norm rather than the exception.

This presentation will provide a case for celebrating such aforementioned deviations. It will demonstrate, through showing a number of related projects, that there is an inherent craft component in CAD-CAM based fabrication processes (an allowance for a subjective interpretation) that, in their own right, routinely catalyze (form based, textural, various sensorial) outcomes affecting and resulting in more dynamic and multi-faceted designs.

Presentation in action (Photo by Jesse Payne)

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