ATHLETE

•

AN ATHLETE WRESTLING WITH A PYTHON (AUGMENTED)

Original Piece by Frederic, Lord Leighton 1877 – Updated Version by STUDIOX 2017

ON DISPLAY AT TATE BRITAIN

MEDIUM Bronze

DIMENSIONS Object: 1746 x 984 x 1099 mm, 290 kg

Display caption

This is the earlier of Frederic Leighton’s only two life-size sculptures, both made with the assistance of Thomas Brock. In subject and scale it was intended as a challenge to one of the greatest classical sculptures, The Laocoön, which shows three men being crushed by sea serpents. Frederic Leighton was a pioneer of what became known as the ‘New Sculpture’ movement in Britain. This fresh approach looked back to classical sculpture while focusing on the naturalism of the body through careful modelling of the surface. This coincided with a revival of interest in bronze, the lost wax technique used here allowing for precision in the treatment of form.

Gallery label, November 2016

More detailed expression about Athlete can be found here: http://www.artic.edu/~dgetsy/Publications-Files/Publications2-Excerpts/Getsy-BodyDoubles-1-Leighton-.pdf

Digital artist caption

It is impossible not to be impressed by this life size bronze master piece at Tate Britain in London. Through out detailed 3D scanning with photogrammetry we were able to obtain 3D digital model of Lord Leighton’s pioneer sculpture known as the new movement of its’ time. In the original work, Athlete’s struggle with a python is depicted as a sensible balanced both visually and conceptually. The python and the nude man forms become one and it is almost impossible to separate one another in any angle of this composition. And also this fight is portrayed mankind’s battle with nature and its unstoppable desire to control it in some cases at late Victorian Era in 19th century.

150 years later, our world is global. All the information that we accumulate is shared. Human kind is advancing its endeavour to multi-planetary level. To get to this level we developed, engineered, designed tools that in a way distinctively separated us from the nature we know from antiquity. This work’s pure intension is to point out this separation in a reflective manner.

3D scanning method is photogrammetry with Agisoft PhotoScan Pro V1.2. Mesh fixing, digital retopologizing and UV mapping (where applicable) was held with Pixologic ZBrush R7 P3. Rendered on Cinema 4D R18.