• Key_Image_ASM_fram
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Statement
ASM_frag creates a reanimated, 3D printed object from photographic documentation of a drone strike. A hellfire missile fragment was smuggled out of Pakistan, photographed, sent through the web, and became viral documentation of a very destructive and violent moment in time. The virtual lifecycle of the missile itself was completed by the person who took the photograph. Physical missile, to exploded fragment, to virtual fragment, to exploded physical form once more. The abstraction evokes a sense of a desolate landscape; craters feel vast and peaks like crumbling buildings. The structure had to be supported during the 3D print, layer by layer, which created, strings, webs, and imperfections straying from the original 3D model. The singular object for me creates a space for contemplation and reflection. It is not shiny and perfect like many other 3D prints, but delicate, messy, and violent.

Year of Creation: 2014
Materials: PLA 3D Print
Dimensions: 9″ x 6″ x 5″

Biography
Nathaniel Hartman was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. He received his MFA from The Ohio State University in 2012. His work has been shown internationally and nationally, notably at the Boston Cyber Arts Gallery, P.S. 142, the Seattle Center, MIXLab Gallery, Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries, and the Argo Film Festival in Volos, Greece. He has received numerous commissions and awards including a Seattle World’s Fair art commission, NPR’s best classical albums of 2013, and accolades in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, The New Yorker for his performances and albums. He lives and works in Columbus, Ohio.

Project Website
http://www.nathanielhartman.com/projects/asmfrag/

Artist Website
http://www.nathanielhartman.com/