Digital Manufacturing Meets Art to Create ‘Strange’ Connections on San Francisco’s Open Streets
October 18 2016 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
Proto Labs’ Cool Idea! Award helps create
injection-molded lenses to encourage human interaction
The Market Street Prototyping Festival recently celebrated art
and community in one of San Francisco’s most-traversed
neighborhoods. One of the event’s premier incubation projects will
remain for up to two years, and aims to build powerful connections
among street-dwellers, ironically by creating distortions between
them.
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Art installation Strange Lenses seeks to
build connections between strangers through unique interaction.
(Photo: Robb Godshaw)
Strange Lenses artist Robb Godshaw used a service grant from the
Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award, and funding from festival sponsors, to
manufacture giant silicone lenses that distort a user’s face when
viewed from the other side, similar to funhouse mirrors.
Godshaw’s lenses — produced with injection-molded optical liquid
silicone rubber (LSR) — have been digitally designed and
manufactured to create geometric distortions. The exhibit
encourages visitors to create connections with strangers by
interacting in a unique and engaging way.
“Strangers open up — they become completely disarmed and start
acting as friends,” said Godshaw. “Seeing people in this way — in a
socially interactive art installation — can create an impact on the
way you see and interact with your community.”
Godshaw’s work was chosen as an “incubation project” for the
Market Street Prototyping Festival after early success in a
three-day installation last year, meaning it’ll be installed for up
to two years in the heart of the retail district in San Francisco.
He applied for and won a Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award, which allowed
him to create the high-quality lenses very quickly and efficiently,
in time for the event.
“Some initial prototype lenses I had produced elsewhere took
more than 25 hours just to polish and sand,” he said. “I had tried
3D printing some lenses with other manufacturers, but the optical
quality just wasn’t there. When I met Proto Labs, I was blown away
by its optical LSR — especially the speed and clarity.”
Plus, the funding from Proto Labs and others allowed Godshaw to
prepare for the rigors of a two-year installation.
“Designing something to be on the street for two years is a very
different challenge than designing something to be up for a few
days,” said Godshaw. “Optical LSR is robust and durable. You can’t
scratch it, crack it or melt it, so it’s perfect for my
installation and for the millions of people who will interact with
it over the next two years.”
“The Cool Idea! Award exists to enable promising ideas to come
to life, and fittingly, this project will bring people together
from all walks of life,” said Proto Labs founder Larry Lukis.
“We’re happy to have played a role in this project.”
Follow Strange Lenses online, or on Facebook, Instagram or
Twitter.
About the Proto Labs Cool Idea! AwardOffered by Proto
Labs, the world’s fastest digital manufacturing source for custom
prototypes and low-volume production parts, the Cool Idea! Award
helps entrepreneurs bring innovative products to market through
grants that support product prototyping, testing and production.
For more details and to apply for a Cool Idea! Award, go to
protolabs.com/cool-idea.
About Proto LabsProto Labs is the world's fastest digital
manufacturing source for custom prototypes and low-volume
production parts. The technology-enabled company uses advanced 3D
printing, CNC machining and injection molding technologies to
produce parts within days. The result is an unprecedented
speed-to-market value for designers and engineers and an on-demand
resource throughout a product’s life cycle. Visit protolabs.com for
more information.
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Proto LabsSarah Ekenberg, 763-479-7560Public Relations
Managersarah.ekenberg@protolabs.comorMedia ContactPadillaCRT
for Proto LabsTim Nelson, 612-455-1789tim.nelson@padillacrt.com
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