What is the artists role in an age where technology can make objects more precisely than we can with the click of a mouse? This project aims to explore the relationship between photography and 3D printing, two forms of production that have generated similar skepticism from critics who believe that they threaten artistic expression. Does the person who is holding the camera actually make the image and does the person who 3D prints actually build an object? Maybe not, but these technologies certainly act as a catalyst, allowing for creative processes to become accessible to those who might not have made things before.
3D printing has spurred a culture of makers, tinkerers, and creativity around the three dimensional object. As with photography, 3D printing becomes more about the moment that the work is made. The conscious decision to click the shutter or the mouse button. I envision this piece spurring a conversation amongst other photographers, who might consider 3D printing as a method to customize their gear, and to differentiate themselves from other photographers. What if we were to create an open source community that is comprised solely of photographers, who can manipulate and update models to suit their professional needs.
I created this camera as a discursive experiment, to use a print to generate more prints and to take control of the process. The camera takes 120mm film and has a lens of 1:71 f=50mm. My next step is to create a camera that accepts 35mm film.
Below are some sample images that were taken with this camera.
