The Horse as Technology
v1.0 by: Michael Takeo Magruder, 2014
A new media installation reflecting upon the Book of Revelation that proposes the 'horse' is a symbol of technology which embodies transformation and maintains the power to either create or destroy.
Installation Documentation (v1.0):
About the Artwork:
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are among the best-known characters from the Book of Revelation, even though they appear only briefly in the text. These riders – Conquest, War, Famine and Death – are seen as the harbingers of humanity's Last Judgment, and as such, have been the focus of much attention and speculation throughout the Book's reception history.
The Horse as Technology is a modular new media installation that proposes the 'horse' of Revelation is a symbol of technology – an extension of the human body and will – embodying transformation and maintaining the power to either create or destroy. The artwork consists of a sculptural environment reminiscent of a scientific laboratory that is filled with modern digital production systems and processes related to 3D scanning, visualisation and printing.
A single real horse skull is displayed at the room's focal point, while the surrounding areas of the space contain various digital de/re-constructions of the biological form. These include a series of light boxes containing the binary scan data of the digitised skull and an automated 3D printing system that continuously generates digital copies of the original artefact (one per day). Viewers are able to witness the technological processes first-hand and reflect on the influence of these systems to both engender new forms of creation and bring about destructive (perhaps even apocalyptic) changes in ways that are quite similar to the potentialities of the horse in ancient times.
Digital Media Documentation:
In Collaboration with:
Drew Baker [ 3D visualisation and programming ] . Ben Jastram [ 3D printing and engineering ]
With Thanks to:
Prof. Ben Quash [ academic project lead ] . Alfredo Cramerotti [ curatorial project lead ] . Joachim Weinhold & Clemens Kautz [ 3D Lab, Technische Universität Berlin ] . Priya Shah, Dan Safar & Peter Jones [ PrintME 3D ] . Tom White [ 3D scanning ]
Installation Documentation (v1.1):
Supported by:
The Horse as Technology v1.0 was produced in 2014 as part of De/coding the Apocalypse – a solo exhibition exploring contemporary creative visions inspired by and based on the Book of Revelation; presented by the Cultural Institute at King’s College London in partnership with contemporary art centre MOSTYN and the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at King’s. The artwork's research phase (2012-13) was funded by the Leverhulme Trust's artist-in-residence programme. Selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D prints for the installation were generously supplied by the 3D Lab, Technische Universität Berlin. Fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing system and materials for the installation were generously supplied by PrintME 3D.
Artwork Requirements:
[ gallery ] Modular installation with: physical horse skull; digital prints; data light boxes; selective laser sintering (SLS) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D prints; FDM 3D printing system; real-time virtual object (Unity3D with Leap Motion controller); and real-time soundscape (Flash).
[ virtual skull ] Mac or Windows computer system with Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari; the Unity3D webplayer and Adobe Flash plugins; and stereo audio. A high-specification CPU/GPU, colour display with ≥1080p resolution and high-speed Internet connection are recommended.
[ VIEW THE VIRTUAL SKULL (Firefox/Internet Explorer/Safari) 142MB ]
Online Resources and Reviews:
