Renown Artist Miguel Chevalier Creates Enormous Voxelized 3D Print of Roman God Janus

It has only been recently that 3D printing and art have really begun to collide in creating some tremendous works-of-art which would be almost impossible to come by prior to the use of this technology. Artists, fashion designers, and architects around the world are all being drawn to this technology as a new way in which they can express themselves in a world that has slowly been moving into the digital realm.

For one artist, named Miguel Chevalier, artistic design based on computers is nothing new. In fact, Chevalier has been using computers as a means for his artistic expression for over 35 year now. He is world renown for being one of the few pioneers of digital and virtual art, and is looked up to by many artists who could only hope to one day create works as brilliant as his.

For one of his latest projects, ‘Janus 2013’, he decided to mix 3D printing into his creation, and the results were quite astounding. Known for decades for his virtual creations, 3D printing is just the technology to allow Chevalier to bring his intricate designs into tangible form.

The voxels

‘Janus 2013’, for those of you familiar with Roman mythology, is a statue of the Roman god of beginnings and transitions. He is almost always depicted as having dual faces which allow him to gaze into the past, while also looking into the future. In fact, the month of January is named after this very important figure from Roman mythology.

Perhaps the creation is a metaphor for 3D printing, or perhaps Chevalier created it for another reason, but one thing is for sure, it is ofe of the most unique pieces you will ever see. The giant 3D printed statue (or perhaps closer to a bust, sans the shoulders and chest area), weighs close to 120kg (265 pounds), measures an incredible 1000 x 1000 x 820mm, and is on display as part of Chevalier’s interactive virtual reality installation, “Terra Incognita” 2010, which is being exhibited at MIS in Sao Paulo Brazil. It was 3D printed in a form where the voxels (3D pixels) can be seen.

“With the 3D printed sculpture, Miguel Chevalier wants to underline the omnipresence of digital art in our society and shows that digital art is in continuity with the history of art since Antiquity,” explains a representative from voxeljet.

“Janus 2013” was 3D printed on a voxeljet VX4000 3D printer, which is capable of printing objects with a build volume of up to 8 cubic meters. It was printed in one piece on this mammoth machine, using a wall thickness of approximately 25 mm, with a completely hallow interior, in order to keep the weight under 120 kg. It only took voxeljet 40 hours to print. Chevalier said that he was very pleased with both the speed of delivery as well as the final print quality.

The voxeljet VX4000 is known as one huge 3D printer. It has a build space that measures an incredible 4000 x 2000 x 1000mm, and uses a fluid binder to bond the material together, one layer at a time. It is the largest of voxeljet’s machines and is considered to be a very high quality printer, according to several people I have spoken to in the past.

What do you think about this enormous 3D printed voxelized statue of the Roman God Janus? Discuss in the 3D Printed Voxelized Statue forum thread on 3DPB.com.