Recreating 19th-Century Face Jugs with 3D Scanning and Printing Technology

Bob Cramblitt wrote an article about using 3-D scanning and printing technology to re-create 19th-century face jugs. The process is quite interesting!

The face vessels made by African-Americans 150 years ago in Edgefield, South Carolina, might have been small, but they told big stories — stories of cultural movement, human survival, spiritualism and technological prowess, according to Jon Prown, director for the Chipstone Foundation.

Under curator Claudia Mooney, Chipstone has created Face Jugs: Art and Ritual in 19th-Century South Carolina, an exhibition that opens at the Birmingham (Alabama) Museum of Art on January 13, 2013.

The exhibit, which originated at the Milwaukee Art Museum and was also on display at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina, has a modern story to tell as well — one that demonstrates the power of 3D technology to eliminate geographical barriers and preserve culture for future generations.

2 Responses to Recreating 19th-Century Face Jugs with 3D Scanning and Printing Technology

Math Campbell on January 3rd, 2013 at 12:26 am said:

Very interesting, although not at all what I thought it would be when I clicked the link.

I do now wish I could laser-scan my face and make a 3d-printed relief of it, on a mug. Would be good to scare away children etc.
Alas, I do not have the technology…

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Trav on January 3rd, 2013 at 6:31 am said:

Cool use of technology, but I can’t quite get a handle around the last line of the article “preserve culture for future generations.” I can see preserving history because the printed jugs could be presented in several places, but to preserve culture, I would think you need to replicate the whole process of the making. To me that would be the same as saying we preserve Native American “Culture” by buying factory made Moccasins.

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