Artists often push the envelope of design and technique and that is certainly the case for “Self-portrait 21” by Dutch sculptor Caspar Berger, selected as this week’s Design of the Week. The production of this bronze self-portrait is quite a story.
Berger used a medical CT scanner to capture a 3D model of his own skull. The skull was then 3D printed and sent anonymously to a forensic anthropologist with instructions to reproduce the most likely face of the skull using facial reproduction techniques (clay). Finally, the reconstructed head was bronzed.
A truly fascinating experiment. But how close was the reproduction to reality? We found this undated image of Berger for comparison at the Dutch Director’s Guild. (Um, what exactly is he doing in this scene, anyway?)