LOW-POLY
CHILI
digital
print sculpture
17” x 11” x 21”
2003
A low-res version of the family dog created using the methodology of computer game modeling, texture-mapped with high-res digital photos.
“Low-Poly Chili” resulted from interest in our cognitive and perceptual processes. In the past I did some work in computer game design, and there's a method of creating game pieces called low-poly modeling. It's basically taking a complicated object and simplifying it into as few pieces as possible. This object is then textured with a higher res version. Because you view the 3D object on a 2D computer screen, the texture gives the object an illusion of being more "realistic" than it really is. I was experimenting with creating sculptural versions of these objects, because they create interesting effects on the viewer trying to make sense of them. They don't work the way they should, and never give you a "perfect," objective view. Some part of the object is always photorealistic, but others are abstracted. The texture and the object are at opposite purposes.
I chose
to do a sculpture of our dog Chili because the family dog is a familiar
subject, without any loaded content. Chili was very cute, graphic, and
a great size for the purpose. I shot high resolution digital photographs
of him from about a dozen angles, and then manipulated them to create
a seamless texture on a 3D abstraction of his pose. After I assembled
this in the computer, I then unfolded the object into a flat image, which
was printed out as a high resolution print. It's all one connected piece
of paper. This is then folded back together into the resulting sculpture.
View Quicktime movie:
click image to view/download 3.7MB Quicktime movie
