Precious antiquities are brought back to life through 3-D printing technology
A group of creative people in Georgia are using 3-D printing technology to replicate ancient treasures and create new ones.
About 2,500 years ago, in ancient Greece, the famous sculptor Phidias created a giant statue of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.
It was placed in a huge temple built in his honor at Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games.
In the fifth century, the statue was destroyed by fire, but replicas were produced in the following years.
At Georgia’s Kennesaw State University, they used 3-D printing technology to create a model to the scale of the statue.
Kennesaw State assistant professor Randy Emmott said, “I think it’s a both fun and cool way to use engineering tools, and it opens up a dialogue between engineering students and art students to discover new ways to create art or use these tools to bring these into conjunction with each other.”
The model was made of plastic and took about six weeks to build.
Emmott says, “It opens up a whole new world of interaction with this statue.”
The statue was created for an exhibit at the Millennium Gateway Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 1996 Olympics.
To this day, it remains the focus of the museum’s exhibit.
Rodney Cook, CEO of the National Monument Foundation, said, “The contrast between a work of art of such classical form and the high-tech way it was made is breathtaking, and our visitors, young and old, are dazzled by it.”
Students at this university also use 3-D printing technology to create modern works, but Cooke emphasizes its important role in replicating ancient treasures.
Cook said, “We are acutely aware of these educational and architectural treasures that we are currently responsible for hosting, and we will do everything we can to pass them on to the next generation.”
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