Waganari Melds Art and Technology with Dark, Ethereal 3D Printed Wire Sculptures

What an artist creates is a bundle of complexity, all sealed in one: a process, an expression of emotion, sometimes compulsive, repulsive — or breathtaking with its beauty. Most often, the artist is telling you a story, no matter the medium or the tool. Whether for noble, selfish, playful, or unknown reasons, the artist shares with you — and sometimes even invites you to interact with these creations.

Obviously though, it’s not that simple to come up with a new idea out of thin air, to pull a masterpiece out a hat, or to re-create the inspirational wheel, inserting that ‘wow’ factor that patrons and viewers come to sometimes take for granted.

Inspiration often requires a jump start and some added ‘oomph’ achieved through traveling in other directions — and dimensions. 3D printing in art is a perfect example as it enables the artist to experiment with a variety of new methods and materials. While 3D printing has led to unique re-creation and novel replication of objects, jewelry, shoes, and the like, it has also spurred on stunning inventions, which have the potential to change multiple sectors, across the board.

German artist Moto Waganari (real name Lutz Wagner) definitely wanted to get a reaction with his sculptures, which are meant to surprise you, trick your brain a little, and delight aesthetically, even if the subject matter is sometimes a little on the dark side. While he may be fond of presenting us with humans and animals depicted in sculpture, we aren’t exactly talking snuggly kittens and puppies.

Waganari wanted to break the mold. Starting from the ground up, he began with his tools, creating his own 3D printer. He combined that technology with inspiration, ethereal design, wire, and a big dose of light, shadow, and curiosity. The surreal sculptures are composed of interwoven networks of 3D printed wire that Waganari uses to create delicate, surreal shapes and forms that play off light and shadow. He uses illumination to create the multi-dimensional effect, which reveals the ‘alter ego’ of each sculpture.

In a spell of dark beauty and illusion, Waganari’s wireframe structures conduct light and shadow so that the images ofpeople and animals seem to jump off the screen. Part of his goal is to make you wonder whether you are looking at art or technology. Taking that one more enormous step forward, he has created his own online gallery of ‘real virtuality’ where you can touch, pinch and pull, and shape the sculptures, watching them rematerialize. You can participate in Waganari’s art yourself, manipulating his works into your own artistic expression of dark, light, and shadow.

“I wanted to create something that never existed before. Something that will amaze us because it is not feasible by human hands,” says German artist Moto Waganari.

With the progress and change of each era come new styles in art, industry, architecture, and on and on, and we are seeing that now worldwide, with Waganari’s inimitable work as a perfect illustration. Each work of art fills the spectator with surprise and curiosity, and we can only hope that he will continue to fulfill that need to create, so we may have the privilege of enjoying.

What do you think of the multi-dimensional work Waganari creates with 3D printing? Have you experimented with anything similar? Tell us about it in the 3D Printed Wire Sculptures forum.

Check out a video from Waganari’s site, detailing the interactive features of his art: