I was recently asked advise about the feasibility of the following project. As it is quite beyond my current expertise, I’m now asking you on this forum. Art restorers from our university are restoring a sculpture, approx measuring 600m2,so quite large (this is the one: https://krollermuller.nl/jean-dubuffet-jardin-d-email). Now, this sculpture was exposed to the elements for almost 50 years, and has been repainted a number of times. During restoration works they found underneath all these layers the original painted lines, done by the artist himself, and they discovered that the lines had started to shift from their original position. They would like to restore the sculpture as close to the original and here we come in, they wanted to know whether it is possible to project these on the restored surface so they could be traced.
The process as I imagine would be to create a 3D model of the sculpture (which is actually my work, and thus the easiest part of the project) > restore the sculpture which involves completely covering the old lines > make another 3D model of the renovated surface > transfer the texture from the old 3D model to the new one > project it using the projection mapping functionality of vvvv. This would involve making a construction suspending the projector high above the sculpture, pointing it down.
The question is however, whether this would be worth the effort even trying.
How accurate would the projection be? The lines have to be on exactly the right place.
Would it be possible to project the image all at once over the entire 600m2 of sculpture, or is it better to break it up in pieces?
Is it feasible at all considering the complex geometry of the sculpture?
Hi Thymus, interesting project and sculpture!. It is definitely doable, and I’d do it if I were you (the difficulty is the size), you’ll need more than one projector to cover the whole sculpture. there is a sample projection mapping tutorial on vvvv that teaches how to do this for both single and dual projectors covering 2 angles.
Even if you do project the old lines the current contours will be showing as well but you get a glimpse of what it would be like if it was done the way originally intended by the artist (a sort of side-by-side comparison)
I would do it this way: first have the exact 3D model of this sculpture, unroll/unwrap it in an application and create a 1:20 model of it from thick paper using a cutting machine. Then after assembling it you’ll end up with a white sculpture like a canvas for projecting both the current and the hidden lines and switch between them.
Hi metrowave, thanks for your response! Good to hear you believe it’s possible.
Regarding your suggestion of making a model, perhaps it was not entirely clear from my post, but the restoration involves completely encasing the sculpture with a new layer of concrete, and then painting it white. The current contours will be removed in the process (I think they already started doing that) and they want the old ones that were discovered underneath to be painted on the new surface with the projection as a guide.
Ah, in that case having the exact (blank) model makes it a beautiful surface to project on. if this was a presentation you only need to worry about the view from the audience point of view, however if an exhibition with audience moving all over the place you need to map it from different angels to cover the whole object. Since the projection is also needs precision if you have time making a scaled model makes it easier to practice for final projection, you can use multiple mini projectors to simulate the final event. (I like projections that have study purpose like analysis or explorations revealing some knowledge.)
if you have to use more than one projector it can be tricky to do edge blending, yet it can all be done in vvvv, I haven’t experienced this, but many others here are pro in doing this…
