The 1L robot from the startup Robotor creates sculptures from Carara marble, spending a few days on what would take a human years. Robotor's founder Giacomo Massari believes that "technology does not steal work from people, but only improves it", allowing the most daring ideas to be realised while saving precious material.
"I think it can be estimated at 99%. But the human factor is still crucial. That one per cent is very important," he said.
Moreover, Massari says that "technology doesn't steal work from people, it only improves it" - a bold statement considering that this skill, which has become an art form, has been around for thousands of years.
Robotor's latest robotic sculptor is called 1L. It is a 4m tall zinc alloy giant that can accurately cut marble day and night.
"Waste can now be transformed into any, even the most complex, shape, even in extreme conditions, which was once considered unimaginable. We are entering a new era of sculpture that no longer consists of broken stones, chisels and dust, but of scanning, point clouds and design," the website says.
Today, artists such as Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan are already collaborating with Massari. First, they turn their ideas into 3D images and then embody them with superhuman precision. In a way, it can be compared to Photoshop for sculpture.
"If something goes wrong or you don't like the result, you can just take a step back. The amazing thing about the technology is that we allow artists to think without limits," commented Massari.
However, not everyone is happy about the appearance of robotic sculptures. Sceptics believe that something important can be lost in the process of modernisation.
"We risk forgetting how to work with our hands. I hope that certain knowledge and skills will always be with us, although the more we move forward, the harder it is to preserve them," said Lorenzo Calcinai, sculptor of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence.
(Text translated from Ukrainian)
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