Paper Models: investigating laser-cutting technology to develop new artists' books and paper-based creative practice for arts, crafts and design

这个试点项目将允许艺术家开发激光切割的长期潜力，作为他们的军械库的一部分。艺术家经常采用工业和数字技术进行创造性的工作，例如使用数字印刷来创作艺术家的书籍和印刷品。这个项目将为艺术家的创作方式创造新的方法论。随着技术变得更加经济实惠，激光切割机在中学，继续和高等教育中是一个常规功能。该项目旨在探索激光切割机作为艺术家处理书籍形式和纸质作品的工具的潜力，并看看它如何取代手工操作纸张和卡片的劳动密集型需求。该项目还旨在改变对创意制作的态度，并提高艺术家/手工艺者对新技术优势的认识。工业上正在探索用激光切割机操纵纸张，但相对未被探索的是使用激光切割机作为艺术家和工匠的创造性生产工具的可能性。许多艺术家不喜欢的一个方面是，普通的二氧化碳激光切割机会烧毁和烧焦纸张的边缘。通过调查哪种纸张切割时燃烧最少，并使用氮气代替氧气作为切割催化剂，这应该可以将任何烧焦降到最低。PI研究并协助艺术家和设计师进行激光切割，并认为这些机器的潜力尚未得到充分开发。作为竞标的一部分，PI将发展自己的实践，作为一名使用激光切割工艺的书籍艺术家。这包括探索将激光切割机与数字印刷结合使用的可能性，以在书中产生与印刷图像相关的精确切割和折叠。这一结果将作为最后结果的三个深入案例研究之一。PI还将与另外两位尚未将激光切割机作为创造性生产工具的图书艺术家合作。使用激光作为切割、刻痕、穿孔和雕刻纸张的工具的可能性尚未被书籍和纸张艺术家充分利用。许多艺术家在他们的作品中使用手工切割和评分，而不知道激光切割机可以帮助制作版本或独特作品的许多更平凡的方面。激光切割机不需要取代手工制作的元素，而是与它一起运行。这将允许艺术家更有效地制作更大的版本，并允许作品分发给更广泛的受众。这些艺术家将被邀请到西英格兰大学精细印刷研究中心（CFPR）进行案例研究，并在四天的时间内密集工作，创作探索激光切割机使用的新作品。新作品将于2010年至2011年期间在英国和丹麦的四个场馆展出。为了在学术背景下展示这项应用研究，该项目的研究结果也将在网上发布，以允许更多的传播，并引发进一步的讨论和发展激光切割机作为一种创造性的生产工具。总的来说，这些案例研究将被写下来，并作为一篇文章提交给《the Bonefolder》、《the Journal of Artists’Books》和《AfterImage》。针对艺术家、设计师、工匠和教育工作者的免费切割指南将以pdf格式在CFPR图书艺术网站上提供。一篇关于该项目成果的评论文章也将以PDF格式在图书艺术网站上提供。25名代表将参加为期一天的研讨会，介绍项目，演示过程并反馈到项目报告中。其中一位案例研究艺术家还将展示驻地创作的作品，并讨论使用激光切割机的过程如何影响他们作品的创造性生产。

This pilot project will allow artists to develop the longer-term potential of laser cutting as part of their armoury. Artists often adapt industrial and digital technologies to work with creatively, as evidenced by the use of digital printing, to create artists' books and prints. This project would create new methodologies for artists' creative production methods.As the technology becomes more affordable, laser cutters are a regular feature within secondary, further and higher education. This project aims explore the potential of the laser cutter as a tool for artists working with the book form and paper-based work, and see how it can replace the need for labour intensive manipulation of paper and card by hand. The project also aims to change attitudes to creative making and increase awareness of the advantage of new technologies for artists/craftspeople.Manipulating paper on a laser cutter is being explored within industry, but what remains relatively unexplored is the possibility of using the laser cutter as a creative production tool for artists and craftspeople. One aspect that is unappealing to many artists is that the normal carbon dioxide laser cutter will burn and scorch the edges of the paper. With an investigation into which papers cut with the least amount of burning and by utilising nitrogen instead of oxygen as the cutting catalyst, this should reduce any scorching to an absolute minimum. The PI researches and assists artists and designers with laser cutting and feels that the potential of these machines is under-explored. As part of this bid the PI would be developing his own practice as a book artist with the use of the laser cutting process. This involves exploring the possibilities of using the laser cutters in conjunction with digital printing to produce accurate cuts and folds within the book, in relation to the printed imagery. The results of this would be used as one of the three in-depth case studies in the final outcomes.The PI will also work with two other book artists who have yet to engage with laser cutters as a creative production tool. The possibility of using the laser as a tool for cutting, scoring, perforating and engraving paper is as yet underutilised by book and paper artists. Many artists use hand cutting and scoring in their work unaware that laser cutters can assist in many of the more mundane aspects of producing editions or unique works. The laser cutter need not replace the handcrafted element rather run alongside it. This would allow the artist to produce larger editions more effectively and allow the work to be distributed to a wider audience.The artists will be invited to be a case study resident at the Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR), University of the West of England, and work intensively over a four day period, producing new work that explores the use of the laser cutters. The new work produced on residency will be exhibited at four venues in the UK and Denmark over 2010 - 2011. To present this applied research within an academic context, the findings of the project will also be published online to allow for greater dissemination and to provoke further discussion and development of the laser cutter as a creative production tool. Collectively the case studies will be written up and submitted for publication as an article in 'The Bonefolder', 'The Journal of Artists' Books' and 'AfterImage'. Free cutting guides, aimed at artists, designers, craftspeople and those in education, will be available as PDFs on the CFPR book arts website. A critical essay on the project's outcomes will also be available on the book arts website as a PDF. A one-day symposium for twenty-five delegates will present the project, demonstrate the process and feedback into the project report. One of the case study artists will also present the work produced on residency and discuss how the process of using a laser cutter impacted on the creative production of their work.