We Don’t Need More Michaelangelos but Can Use a Few More Davids
Capture timeless treasures in creative ways
Move over Michaelangelo, the slab of marble in the center of town is no longer yours. It belongs to the robots. Sweating in the sun of summer and freezing in the cold of winter while contorting your body into torturous positions to sculpt doesn’t have to be the love of your art or the painful wear on your body.
Who needs the actual statue of David when robots can make a replica to the same proportions? Technology pits the teamwork of robots and lasers to create a replica of the original against timeless treasures that are crumbling under their own weight and by virtue of time. Renaissance art does not age well.
Rather than lose the sculptures of the masters, technology is re-creating art for viewing and for study. Artists are putting down the archaic tools of their trade — the hammer and chisel — and commissioning robots as modern ghostwriters over slabs of marble, tapestries, and paint to create priceless art.
The Verge says:
Experts have long said that David is at risk of collapsing due to the poor-quality marble that Michelangelo used, as well as its precarious pose. Because of these structural problems, an earthquake or even vibrations from nearby construction…
