Unseen Art: 3D Printing Classical Paintings for the Blind

Here's a great example of innovation working for good. Is recreating famous artwork that you can feel a form of copyright infringement? Or is it format-shifting for a new era of making art more accessible? Article by Johnny Strategy for This Is Collosal “You can look but you can’t touch.” That’s one of the first rules of museums, which house priceless works of art. But what about the community of blind and visually impaired who use their sense of touch to experience the world? The Unseen Art Project is an initiative to make art more accessible and inclusive by using 3D-printing technology to create replicas of masterpieces that can be touched ’till your heart is content.

Here's a great example of innovation working for good. Is recreating famous artwork that you can feel a form of copyright infringement? Or is it format-shifting for a new era of making art more accessible?

Article by Johnny Strategy for This Is Collosal

“You can look but you can’t touch.” That’s one of the first rules of museums, which house priceless works of art. But what about the community of blind and visually impaired who use their sense of touch to experience the world? The Unseen Art Project is an initiative to make art more accessible and inclusive by using 3D-printing technology to create replicas of masterpieces that can be touched ’till your heart is content.

“There are many people in the world who have heard of classical artworks their whole lives but are unable to see them,” says Marc Dillon, a Helsinki-based designer who wants to make works like the Mona Lisa touchable. In order to make his vision a reality, Dillon has recently established a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. He hopes to raise enough money to create an online repository where artists can contribute 3D data of artworks and anyone with a 3D printer will be able to print it out.

- Read more at ThisIsCollosal.com