New technology and the creative mind
A personal journey by Dr. Michaella Janse van Vuuren
Let’s start at the beginning.
MOM
Michaella Janse van Vuuren
Artist
Berkeley MS Structural
Engineer
DAD
My mom is an artist and my father an engineer. I was playing around with new technology from an early age. I thought every family had an Apple â…Ą computer.
I loved to draw and paint from a young age.
By the time I reached HIGH SCHOOL I was only interested in art.
Conscious Struggle It was very difficult to make a living as an artist.
Photoshop 1.0 released in 1990, 2 years later I made this image
I tried to become more commercially viable in the marketplace. I could not get an interview to show my portfolio. In 1992, I did not know that Adobe Photoshop was only 2 years old.
I tried it my Mom’s way. Now it was time to try Dad’s way.
I decided to study electrical engineering.
I had to acquire new skills. Creativity as I knew it became a distraction. I trimmed the artist within, consciously removing all colour and creative freedom.
&
BSc-PhD Electrical Engineering 10 years
Art training gives insight that led to my PhD in Electrical Engineering. My MSc to PhD took 6 years of coding.
13- first contact with 3D printing
Coding is a different type of creativity and I missed the
COLOUR
?
Where are all the pictures, the sculptures, the beautiful things, the
My first contact with 3D printing was in 2005. I was amazed! You can create a 3D object on a computer, email the file, and 3D print it anywhere in the world!
Post doctorate Medical implant design and 3D Printing 2006
I realised you don’t need a higher degree to be able to do 3D design.
I made my own stuff.
I pruned so much of my artistic self that I had to revisit my drawings from school for inspiration.
The Birdman
CLICK to view video
2009
THE PROCESS The Birdman mechanism and chainmail wings was designed and spaced in digital 3D file format. The file is then directly 3D printed where the object is built up layer by layer, by fusing nylon powder with a laser. The Birdman’s mechanism and the interlinked chainmail emerge from the 3D printer in its final form with no assembly required.
Horse marionette
CLICK to view video
The Horse marionette pays homage to my earlier days of puppet making. The image of the horse itself was inspired by a drawing I made during that time.
Zbrush +/-1 day, Rhino +/- 304 working hours.
The Rocking Springbuck
CLICK to view video
2011
Inspiration/The Rocking Springbuck
2011
The Rocking Springbuck is dedicated to Una, a Springbuck I hand-reared. It also serves as commentary on wild animals in captivity.
The Sea Dog
2011
Direct Metal Print: Colin Cater
I am always striving to do something
NEW.
Now I wanted to be a fashion designer
Create the Idea Find the people & make it happen
Objet500 Connex3
The Garden of Eden Fashion collection www.3dprintshow.com Kerry Hogarth
www.uformia.com Turlif Vildbrandt
www.stratasys.com Tal Ely, Dr. Daniel Dikovsky
I have added this video to explain the fashion pieces I created for the collection. CLICK to view video
Product photography credits: Yoram Reshef
Model, Lerato Moloi Heads Models Photographer Merwelene van der Merwe studio (Nikon ambassador)
Product photography credits: Yoram Reshef
Model Lerato Moloi, Photographer Merwelene van der Merwe
The stained glass corset
Product photography credits: Yoram Reshef
Model, Lerato Moloi Heads Models Photographer Merwelene van der Merwe studio (Nikon ambassador)
ART
Engineering
Great stuff happens when art and engineering meet.
3D manufacturing bypasses normal manufacturing convention. Idea Creative drawing Technical drawing Tool maker Production line Sales person Shop Final end user
NEW PROCESS 3D PRINTABLE FILE | EMAIL | END USER
@
TR
CT UR ING
INDIE MANUFACTURING
A
D IT IO NA L
MA
A F NU
The 3rd industrial revolution: The individual at the manufacturing steering wheel
Disruptive Technologies
Some things change: Disruptive innovation
Disruptive innovation: change is inevitable. Are you going to adapt to the new situation or are you going to be swept away by the waves.
Printing press Personal computers Internet Smartphones 3D Printing
To children everything is new.
Prepare for a 3D world, back to basics.
AGENTS OF THE 3D REVOLUTION Through inspiration and education we can change our world
I established the company Agents of the 3D Revolution to create awareness about this disruptive technology within the general public.
EDUCATION SHO ULD BE FREE
Click to view video
Nervous System Keith Brown
Lionel T. Dean
Jan Potgieter
Jan Potgieter
Jan Potgieter
Jonathan Keep
Joshua Harker
Geoffrey Mann
Jan Potgieter
Northcliff Melville Times
Exhibition
Jan Potgieter
Jan Potgieter
Jan Potgieter
Nicole Ogle
Jan Potgieter
Jan Potgieter
AGENTS OF THE 3D REVOLUTION Through inspiration and education we can change our world
Technology demo
Design courses
Sponsors
Some people just love contributing to interesting stuff.
why
Years later, is it still so hard to make a living?
What am I missing?
Why? The journey to understanding...
I love exploring the unknown!
Marketplace = Known
Monetary exchange is based on perceived value. This value of products and services is not place or time specific. The wants and needs of people in Japan are different to the needs of people in Africa. The unknown product has no monetary value yet.
Explorers of the Unknown
R&D
Universities, R&D’s know they need to support the research phase. Success is not guaranteed.
E
UR
AS
ME
s=m
Success = Money
Religions
Universities The Universe of us
Marketplace
It is challenging to be an explorer. The unknown has no perceived market value.
Explorers of the Unknown Artists Writers R&D
Start-ups Open source
E
UR
AS
ME
s=m
Success = Money
Religions Inventors
Universities
Gift economies
I have found that the creative process has stayed the same whether I do art or engineering. I believe that it has not changed through the ages. The explorer is not confined within a marketplace defined
“box�
Some things stay the same Peak of inflated Expectations
Plateau of Productivity
Slope of Enlightenment
Trough of Disillusionment
Gartner Hype Cycle
Time
The creative process is much like the Gartner Hype Cycle, with added ups and downs. Loads of time and effort spent, but no direct income. No guarantee of “success”.
Is money a true measure of
value?
Marketplace
Explorers
Success = R,€,¥,£ E R U
M
S A E
Money = 0 Success = 0 ?!? Value = ?
s=m
Success = Money
The Universe of us
how can we measure the value of an
exploration?
Only you can know the value, you are the explorer. Don’t be like van Gogh and despair.
YOU are not
ALONE
Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
NASA, ESA, and M. Livio (STScI)
Link to online version, Hi-res version Ebook design and assistant editor: Desmond Eales | Angelcy Brand Messengers Narrative & Conceptual design: Dr. Michaella Janse van Vuuren www.nomili.co.za www.agentsofthe3drevolution.com Product photography credits: Yoram Reshef Photoshoot with Model: Model, Lerato Moloi Heads Models Photographer Merwelene van der Merwe studio (Nikon ambassador) Assistant Themba Mokase Hair + make-up, Marilyn du Preez Clothing Designer, Clive Rundle Exhibition photography Curator and exhibition logistics Mariapaola McGurk | Coloured cube Website design: Lieze Janse van Vuuren | Ideation Studio Exhibition sponsors: The Vaal University of Technology idea2product lab RAPDASA