SIGGRAPH 2015: Hybrid Craft

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Chair(s):

Amit Raphael Zoran -
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Art Show Overview:

Human skills are diverse, but many of today’s design and fabrication processes rely on automation rather than manual practice. Modern technology often reduces the need for manual labor, rather than extending it. As a result, traditional crafts are disappearing. The machine has replaced the craftsperson. Plastic has replaced wood. Programmable synthesizers have replaced acoustic instruments. Similarly, traditional design has arrived at an evolutionary impasse, as the reduction in techniques that instill personal values results in artifacts that seem less natural and less human. Yet digital technology contributes an entirely new set of design tools, while contemporary researchers pave the way for computational creativity that can overcome the limitations of the digital terrain, integrating rich and personal design capabilities into contemporary making practices.

The SIGGRAPH 2015 Hybrid Craft exhibition showcases craft techniques and values in contemporary digital design. We show 15 works from skilled makers who rely on computational design tools in their craft, integrating computer-numeric control (CNC) milling capabilities into their processes; using 3D printing technologies to make jewelry, models or artworks; or embedding computational and electronic interaction capabilities into their designs. This demonstrates the multi-directional exchange of knowledge between the new and the traditional. The show emphasizes the importance of craft heritage in contemporary digital design, where beautiful and meaningful artifacts are produced by a machine and craftsperson working together, not by a machine or craftsperson alone. Thus, the show’s portfolio is a condensed yet diverse summary of contemporary hybrid making practice.

Artwork and artists for the Hybrid Craft Gallery are selected by the Gallery Chair and not by a jury.