Prosumption
Phenomenological Actions :
A volcanic rock is found in the desert. It is cherished for what it is. It is taken to the city, where it is digitally scanned. A model is constructed, decimated, detailed, illuminated, calculated and finally 3D printed. The rock and it’s copy are taken back to the desert. The rock is placed back in it’s original location, the 3D print along side it.
Downloads (.stl) :
Full scan data
Decimated 10%
Decimated 30%
Decimated 50%
Decimated 70%
Decimated 90%
Discussion :
We attempt to create an object and action that embodies all three degrees of Jean Baudrillard’s 1981 philosophical treatise ‘Simulacra and Simulation’; creating an artificial placemaker of the rock, breaking the rock down into a mass-reproducible thing, and finally releasing the digital forms online.
In a further ode to the Berkelyean idealism of Borges’s “secondary objects” Hrönir (from his short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius), we bring the facsimile back to the location of origination, like self appointed members of the secret society Orbis Tertius.
References :
Prosumption - Alvin Toffler
"Simulacra & Simulation" - Jean Baudrillard
"Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" - Jorge Luis Borges