Jasmin Marohn

5.22 3D Printing: Chances and Challenges in Art Education (Paper)

Jasmin Marohn – University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), Germany

Abstract:

Although 3D printing has become indispensable in various areas, the technology is rarely used in schools. If schools have 3D printers, they are mainly used in STEM subjects and similar results are achieved using step-by-step instructions. Even if the medium involves the creation and processing of digital models and three-dimensional sculptures, the subject of art is rarely included in this context. One of the reasons could be that the technology and its calculations for creating the models are seen as the central core of instruction. In order to combine technology and art successfully, an overarching topic is essential – one that is meaningful to pupils and does not place technology at the centre. Linking analogue art practices can also serve as an entry point into the topic in an artistic way. The prerequisite for this is a qualitative and quantitative reduction in the choice of programs according to the pupils’ abilities and a focus on essential editing tools to avoid losing the goal in the multitude of possibilities. While the printed object in other school subjects is usually the end of the process, this does not necessarily have to be the case in art lessons. Sometimes the focus of the artistic work is the further processing of the prints. The print can be edited using tools and paint. Often the first print serves as a preliminary stage to get a first impression of the works, after which aspects such as size and the associated spatial effect or the combination with other art practices come into play. Sketchbooks can be used to accompany the whole process. Different approaches to 3D printing in art education will be presented with the help of insights into project work that has been created in cooperation with schools.