Assemblage is the French word for assembling. Many of today’s artists take a variety of objects and assemble them together to form a masterpiece. Artists and designers can potentially use a 3D printer to produce various objects which could be assembled as well. Businesses who are involved with 3D printing of assemblage artworks may be eligible for R&D Tax Credits.
The Research & Development Tax Credit
Enacted in 1981, the now permanent Federal Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit allows a credit that typically ranges from 4%-7% of eligible spending for new and improved products and processes. Qualified research must meet the following four criteria:
- Must be technological in nature
- Must be a component of the taxpayer’s business
- Must represent R&D in the experimental sense and generally includes all such costs related to the development or improvement of a product or process
- Must eliminate uncertainty through a process of experimentation that considers one or more alternatives
Eligible costs include US employee wages, cost of supplies consumed in the R&D process, cost of pre-production testing, US contract research expenses, and certain costs associated with developing a patent.
Artists have found creative ways to recreate fixtures and other pieces of art. Modern day assemblage first began with Pablo Picasso, who would design three-dimensional pieces into works of art. One such example is his piece Still Life 1914 which has wood and inexpensive tablecloth fringing. After Picasso, many other contemporary designers adopted assemblage into their artwork. Humberto and Fernando Capana’s Estudio Campana creates chairs from strips of pine and teak and mixes it with colored cotton ropes and sheepskin pillows. This design may seem eclectic, however, it produces a highly modern piece. One of their exhibits, Hybridism, showcased their unique “Noah Bench.” This bench combines bronze, iron and aluminum and animal figurines to create a unique design piece.
During the 20th Century, one of the well-known assemblage artists was Arman (born Armand Pierre Fernandez), best known for his art that was an accumulation of quite literally “les poubelles” or “trash bins.” Arman was a sculptor during the Nouveau Réalisme (New Realism) art age and an important figure in European contemporary art. He assembled large amounts of products that focused on objects such as mass produced or manufactured products. Nowadays, his artwork could be created with individual molds and then mass produced by a 3D printer.
A graphic designer, pop artist and graduate of The Hague University in Amsterdam, Paco Raphael used 3D printing to develop deer sculptures. Raphael used the sculpting software ZBrush, which initially takes digital images and then transfers these images to a printer. Raphael was able to print life-size deer out of Mammoth Resin using a stereolithography process. Mammoth Resin is a material that when liquid can be inserted into a 3D printer and, once it dries and hardens, leaves a smooth surface and a medium mechanical resistance. More than just focusing on a “canvas on a wall,” Raphael takes the art into 3D space and aligns artwork with industrial production.
For a UK Festival, artist Matthew Plummer Fernandez will exhibit his large-scale 3D printed sculptures. Plummer Fernandez uses digital art to then 3D print his work. The artwork is created by 3D printing startup Fluxaxis. Fernandez uses Shapeways 3D printing technology to create his artwork. He also created software that is based on interactive data called “disarming corruptor.” If you are in London, check out his work which will be on display at the York Mediale Festival 2018.
Historical Based 3D Printed Sculptures
Some of his other artwork includes using fused deposition modeling (FDM). Ervinck printed another small god statue that has ancient Roman Jupiter columns, which were based off of the ancient Roman Empire. The piece, Luizarec, was completed in 2012; Ervinck was inspired by archaeological findings. The artwork appears like a human heart with the arteries scrambling around rounded figures. He combined an ancient soldier and human heart into a glossy yellow 3D printed sculpture.
Animal Lace Art
Conclusion
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Charles Goulding and Alize Margulis of R&D Tax Savers discuss 3D printing and art.