Gardiner, Eileen, and Ronald G. Musto. “The Elements of
Digital Humanities: Object, Artifact, Image, Sound, Space.” Chapter. In The
Digital Humanities: A Primer for Students and Scholars, 43–66. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2015. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139003865.005.
In chapter four of
Digital Humanities: A Primer for Students
and Scholars artifacts are can be treated as a reoccurring motif as many of
the tools discussed in this chapter refers to them and how they can transcend
what was previously a limitation. Time and space are consistently brought up throughout
this chapter, and artifacts were previously limited by being bound to a particular
place which add to the sometimes-great difficulty in order to see or study
them. However, simple photos can capture the essence of an artifact for all to
see provided they have a connection to do so. This makes studying more 2D objects
easier, such as pages of a manuscript, but this method is not all encompassing.
3D modelling and photogrammetry now eliminates the 2D representation’s
limitations by adding depth, and creating a highly accurate model in both size,
and detail which revolutionizes access to artifacts for study. This has the
potential to not only engage the academic audience but create a new avenue to engage
the public as well. As seen on Florida’s Division of Historical Resources website,
they have already embraced photogrammetry within the scope of a project set on
a Spanish galleon found here: http://floridahistoryin3d.com/.
This project embraced this digital tool as a way of education with the 3D representation
of a physical artifact as the center piece complete with a description of the
artifact, points on interest on the model, and references that can all be seen
here: http://floridahistoryin3d.com/viewer.html?id=a748863f3a2a4341aca6ff438f3c88cb.
As
mentioned in chapter four, 3D models have more purposes than just the model
itself; 3D printing creates a plastic replica of the object that can painted to
replicate the original product. This has multiple uses such as museum displays,
or physical points of study, and as points for education by allowing these
cheap replicas to be in more locations without needing to take special care for
its stewardship.
This
concept got me to think about my thesis concept in a way to bring history
through artifacts out of the collections and onto the internet in a free and educational
way much like the Florida’s Division of Historical Resources 3D project.
Additionally, I know of 3D modelling being used to recreate landscapes in the
same way small objects are recreated in the digital space, which makes me
excited at looking into using a 3D modern landscape with touch points that lead
out to 3D artifacts and their description in order to immerse the viewer in
what could be a remote underwater landscape, and connect the provenience and
context of the site to the viewer.
A
Few questions discussed in chapter four centers around authenticity, and in the
face of 3D models and replicas made from 3D prints it brings into question of
not only what is authentic but its importance as well. In light of an
increasingly digital age, this becomes an important question to discuss. As
mentioned in the book, the authentic item is tied to time and space and holds special
importance over replicas. A Macedonian jewelry set was shaped by human hands
for Macedonian royalty and has survived to this day which makes such an object
important as it is a direct link to classical Macedon. While this is true, I believe
any fears over the original losing importance in light of recreations to be
absurd. The original jewelry set, for example, will always have its priceless
importance, however it will always be limited to its location. Therefore, with
more widespread usage of 3D models and replicas, this jewelry set can now engage
a world-wide audience even though they aren’t authentic. Additionally, as the Notre
Dame Cathedral burned earlier this year, and Brazil’s National Museum’s
destruction the year before, it is known all to well that our stewardship of
the past can fail and the direct link to the past can be forever lost. However,
with 3D representation the authentic artifacts will be lost but their history
and physical representation through replication will not.
Trevor Colaneri
University of Central Florida
Orlando, Florida
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