The World’s Largest 3D Printed Art Installation Goes on Display

Fred Kahl, who dubs himself ‘The Great Fredini,’ is the artist behind the largest art installation entirely created from a desktop 3D printer. Mr. Kahl’s creation will be on display starting May 25th at the Coney Island Museum in Brooklyn, New York. This project, which was backed by Kickstarter, is now completed and will go on display for a full year.

Mr. Kahl “scanned hundreds, if not thousands, of Coney’s denizens and visitors who will be featured in the installation. The show will include hundreds of 3D prints comprising over 10,000 hours of print time and the installation will fill an entire gallery of the museum’s newly reopened space.”

The project depicts Coney Island’s Luna Park, the amusement park which stood in Brooklyn between 1903 and 1944. The whole project from start to finish is documented on Mr. Kahl’s website, thegreatfredini.com. Close-ups of the buildings and some of the 3D-printed portraits featured in the art installation are pictured and described on the website, along with the trial and error  that Mr. Kahl had to go through with his 3D printers.

Mr. Kahl has created his own 3D-scanning studio using an Xbox Kinect to scan, then print 3D “portraits” of people. The installation comprises a boardwalk and buildings, including a 53″-tall main tower and a 48″-tall side tower. Everything has been printed in separate pieces and then glued together by hand.

The Coney Island Museum “is rooted in mass culture and the traditions of P.T. Barnum, dime museums, burlesque, circus sideshows, vaudeville, and Coney Island itself.” “The Great Fredini’s” installation will take up an entire pavilion of the museum. Mr. Karl’s Kickstarter campaign helped him raise more than $16,000 to execute his idea. One of the most interesting reward for Kickstarter backers was the possibility to be featured in the installation. Mr. Kahl scanned and then printed “portraits” of his backers and has put them in the installation itself. He also provided a “School Fundraiser Lecture & Scan-a-thon”. His latest lecture is documented on his website.

Mr. Kahl been setting up what he calls a “Scan-a-Rama 3D Portrait Studio” at the Coney Island Museum on Saturdays, in which he scans his customers, then gives them a chance to be 3D-printed at a 1:13 scale, for a small fee. For those who are interested, starting this Sunday, the public will be permitted to view the installation, and on July 6th, there will be an Artist’s reception at the museum.

Are you planning to pay a visit to the work of art? If you are, let’s hear about it. Please post in the ‘Coney Island’ forum thread at 3DPB.com
[Sources: thegreatfredini | coneyisland | broadwayworld]