An art project called #Laugh will create the first piece of art in outer space! By using a zero-gravity 3D printer that’s currently sitting on the International Space Station (ISS), digital artist Eyal Gever’s global collaborative idea will finally come to fruition.
This project began back in 2014, when Gever received a phone call from Made In Space Inc., a company specializing in manufacturing 3D printers. Last March, the company launched the first 3D printer to the ISS. Gever was given the chance to become the very first artist to create a piece of art using that 3D printer. An opportunity like this begs the question, “What should an artist create in zero gravity?”
Gever decided to print a 3D representation of someone’s laugh. People interested in being selected can download the #Laugh app and record their best happy chuckle. The app creates a 3D map of the laugh into what the artist calls a laugh star. Users can vote for their favorite giggle and the winner will have their laugh star sent to the ISS, 3D printed, and jettisoned into the cosmos.
“The earliest cave paintings were of human hands which were a way of proclaiming and celebrating the presence of humanity,” says Gever. “#Laugh will be the 21st century version of that – a mathematically – accurate encapsulation of human laughter, simply floating through space, waiting to be discovered.”
The contest will run until December 31, 2016, so time is ticking to submit your best belly laugh. The winner will be announced in January 2017, and the laugh star will float aimlessly throughout the depths of space by February 2017.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense, 3D printing • additive manufacturing • stereolithography
