We were instructed to begin our posts with our question. Singular. But my project is the culmination of many questions, some of which drew me to Making Meaning Matter to begin with. How can we each discover our own value out of seeing our thoughts materialize before our eyes? Is it possible to not just imagine but witness the transformation of our ego-consumer-driven age to one that learns from, engages with and contributes to the life of and on this planet? How can we use language, our language, to birth our ideas, the delicate, vulnerable, innermost beauty of our being, when we experience daily the limits and inconsistencies our language imposes on us? How can we use 3D printing to get in touch with what it means to be a human, on this planet, in this time?
The question for this project is: Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it?
Yes, I want to create something that is alive, responsive, intuitive, and vulnerable. I want to create an object that will interact with its environment. The 3D object will either itself be made from magnetic materials, or will contain conductive filament such that it can interact with a magnetic force to create a magnetic field in and around the 3D object. Whether I can create a magnetic 3D object or a 3D object with conductive filament will determine the next phase of my project.
If the 3D object is made with a conductive filament then I will introduce a ferrofluid which will demonstrate how the 3D object is interfacing with the magnet and its environment by following the flux lines of the 3D object (Ferrofluid). The particular shape of the 3d object has yet to be determined, and I will experiment with various shapes that mimic the fundamental shapes found in many patterns throughout the world; torus, vector equilibrium (cuboctahedron), 64 tetrahedron grid, flower of life, and others.
If the 3D object is itself magnetic then I will print a number of smaller 3D objects and experiment with a series of smaller magnets. In this case, I will 3D print a number of small flying birds, and attempt to mimic a murmuration of starlings (Keim), what I would consider a 4D version of Indra’s Net.
The shapes I spoke of earlier have been found by many scientists, inventors, innovators, and philosophers to be the basic building blocks of the world we live in today. The structural shape of the vector equilibrium and the torus shape of the magnetic energy field that surrounds every living thing at every scale in the universe, have shown up throughout written history and across nearly every major culture spanning the earth. These shapes are considered the code for a sustainable and ever-evolving cosmology that, when adopted, could mean the end of the myriad concerns enveloping our consumer driven world today (Thrive).
Buckminster Fuller said “The VE represents the ultimate and perfect condition wherein the movement of energy comes to a state of absolute equilibrium, and therefore absolute stillness and nothingness” (Cosmometry). When the eight tetrahedra of the vector equilibrium are expanded out to the next scale, the 64 tetrahedra grid is built. When spheres are drawn around each of the individual tetrahedra, the tetrahedra removed, and the image of the spheres turned two dimensional, the flower of life appears in the overlapping circles. The flower of life has been found in the ancient Temple of Osiris in Egypt as well as The Forbidden City in China, both of which were built centuries ago (Thrive). Even Leonardo da Vinci contemplated on the flower of life in his drawings and used the torus energy shape in some of his inventions (The Secret to How the Universe Works).
You say, so what? What difference will it make to spend a quarter exploring this idea and its manifestations? It will make absolutely no difference if what happens during the unfolding of this idea is not documented, reflected upon and critical discoveries made known. This question could better be answered by Lambros Malafouris’ argument “that by knowing what things are, and how they were made what they are, [we] gain an understanding about what minds are and how they become what they are – and vice versa (Malafouris, 9).” I hope his argument coupled with my curiosity will give me a clear insight into my overarching question: what does it mean to be human?
Works Cited
Cosmometry: Exploring the Fractal Holographic Nature of the Cosmos. Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.cosmometry.net/overview-of-cosmometry
Ferrofluid on the track of a Meatgrinder. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE2pB1pyZN0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Keim, B. (2011, November 8). The Startling Science of a Starling Murmuration. Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.wired.com/2011/11/starling-flock/
Malafouris, L. (2013). How things shape the mind: a theory of material engagement. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take? (2012). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEV5AFFcZ-s&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The Secret To How The Universe Works Lies Within This Geometrical Pattern. What Is The Flower of Life? (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/12/10/the-secret-to-how-the-universe-works-lies-within-this-geometrical-pattern-what-is-the-flower-of-life/
The idea of your printed object being alive is really interesting to me. It raises a lot of questions for me about what life means, and I think it is a valuable thing to explore. How you are choosing to do so is also something that I find very interesting. I’ve always been drawn in by the idea of the re-appropriation of natural shapes and designs into something manufactured, so I’m excited to see where your project goes through the end of the quarter.
I liked how you protested the request that your idea be presented in the form of a single question. The question presented here is “Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it?”
The image gives me an idea that your project is still developing and shows the infinite possibilities of a project that is connected to everything.
Katie’s idea is explained as the desire to create something that is alive, something that can coexist and interact with its environment. The exploration of alternative filament is also expressed.
The quotes woven throughout this blog post give more insight to the very complex idea presented. The mix of movement, complete nothingness and equilibrium are all great keywords that open our minds to the idea Katie hopes to achieve.
The meaning of this idea hopefully will shed light on another question presented, “What does it mean to be human?”
Katie I really admire that you are taking on a project that is so ambitious and in tandem with the concept of Indra’s net, which I initially thought would be a difficult task for many to put in conversation with 3d printing. The questions “Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it” and “what does it mean to be human?” are quite abstract, however abstraction should be no reason to stray from this project which could yield very informative results. Possibly another question that may be helpful to your project is, “what makes a human not an object?” The idea is explained through discussion of magnetic objects and shapes found in nature, yet a graphic depicting those shapes in this post would probably be helpful in translating what it is that you are trying to do since the thesis questions you are asking are rather abstract. The Malfouris and Fuller quotes were incorporated well and I feel as if i can understand your approach, but images to assist your explanation would be very helpful. Good luck!
1. The Idea is to print something alive, vulnerable, and intuitive. The Idea is formulated as a question.
2.The image develops the idea greatly and draws the readers interest.
3.The idea is explained with finesse and from a knowledgeable perspective.
4.The idea is explained well.
5.The references are great.
6.The idea will be explored and tested. It will be cool to see how it goes.
v/r
eric
Your idea appears in many questions, but I follow each of them and their connection to “what it means to be human”. I feel that sometimes asking many questions helps illuminate a larger one, or even sometimes an answer to all, together they become bound and woven, carrying depth and complexity that is beautiful! Your over arching question is huge. I think this project, within this program is a great place to explore such an idea.
The image you have chosen helps develop the idea, by representing this sort of journey to one point. It is like a funnel. A process of contraction and expansion, but a process no doubt.
I felt that your idea was explained to me by the use of your questions, that really develops the huge over-arching feeling of your inquisition, and the way in which it has one and many, and no answers at all? Your idea is also explained by the examples from nature that you draw from. The Buckminster Fuller quote really illuminates not only the shape you mention, but also the metaphor of it.
I think the idea and the importance of the idea is explained in your explanation of the idea itself. In order to get anywhere close to the “heart” of what it means to be human, (and then what everything else means in relation to that) building, or attempting to build “something that is alive, responsive, intuitive, and vulnerable.” creating “an object that will interact with its environment” sounds like most direct way to do so.
Your Malafouris quote really solidifies your inquiry. The Buckminster Fuller quote I kind of already touched on. But some of the other information you cite is really helpful in the explanation of the work you aim to create. For example, the “murmuration of starlings” as being a 4D representation of Indra’s Net, the quote by Thrive about the life changing effects of adopting “These shapes [that} are considered the code for a sustainable and ever-evolving cosmology that….could mean the end of the myriad concerns enveloping our consumer driven world today”. I am so interested in what you mean by that.
I am not sure what citation method was used but I think you used it well, and I could follow the parenthetical citations in the bibliography.
Your response to the “so what” question is brilliant! It won’t matter at all what happens here, there, anywhere, to anyone, (but you!) unless the process is ” documented, reflected upon and critical discoveries [are] made known”. I am really excited and curious to see in what shapes your work will end up.