Research Platform Services Blog

By Emilie Walsh

Interview of research leaders at ResBaz2018

One of the exciting part of working for Research Platform services as a CAD and 3D printing ResCom*, is to get to meet researchers working with 3D in all disciplines. Eric is currently undertaking a master by research at the VCA, and has been helping with my trainings for a few months now.

Eric Jong, Master student in Fine Art at the VCA, ResLead* for CAD and 3D printing

I’ve asked him to tell me about his use of CAD and 3D printing in his research and art practices.

Tell us a bit about your art practice?

My background as a photojournalist heavily influences my art practice, in that I am most interested in exploring social phenomena with an ethical approach and outcome. Previous to this project I had been working on globalisation and the shipping industry.

Eric Jong, 8x8x20 project

Tell us about this work. What was your inspiration for this project?

I’ve been undertaking a project exploring Destitute Funerals, which are the funerals provided by the government to persons whom at the time of their death cannot pay for them themselves. Through this year I have been spending time at a funeral parlour that specialises in Destitute Funerals, and have been fascinated by the intersection of administration ritual and burial ritual.

Eric Jong, unattended funeral, destitute funeral project, 2017

Why did you use 3d printing for this project?

I slowly built up a collection of objects that I had recorded at the funeral parlour and was looking for a appropriate medium for the project. What became most interesting to me was that Destitute Funerals are a prescribed ritual, and one that is performed through offices and with the tools of administration and bureaucracy. Working with this archive of intensely personal objects, 3d printing became a way of talking about representation and authorship. While I was figuring this out I came across the work of the Canadian artist Duane Linklater, and felt his use of 3d printing in working with these problems analogous to my project.

Duane Linklater, Salt 11, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 2015

For my project 3d printing became a way of removing the human hand in the process of making as a reflection of a bureaucratic detachment to individuality. A way of subtracting elements of authorship and history from the objects that I had recorded at the funeral parlour. How did you design your work? The scale is based off the containers that are used by crematoriums (cremation being the default method of treatment in Destitute Funerals) to house the ashes of the deceased, the actual print design of which would be the void of the container.

The 3D models were designed with TinkerCAD, which proved to be very effective for building up an intricate model from a set of predefined shapes.

Eric’s model, designed in TinkerCAD, 2017

I wanted the design of the sculptures to reference a cellular structure, the complexities of which were allowed by having it 3d printed.

Eric Jong, view of the install with the 3D model inside the photocopier, 2017

The assembled work consists of three 3d prints aligned on a office printer, with the light of the scanner relaying back and forth to illuminate them.

Check the video on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/p/BXkHX96Fc4h/?taken-by=roundabouthere

I have also been making photocopies using the 3d on paperwork from Destitute Funerals that have been handled by the funeral parlor.

How has 3d printing brought new directions to your work?

It has been hugely exciting to explore 3d printing: the materiality of 3d printing, the process of it as a system, seeing the digital and physical results, I think that every step has introduced me to new potentials for my practice.

I’m excited to learn the language of 3d printing, and to see how I can use it to tell new stories.

Using Prop comedy to describe data structures in Python.

As a Python Community Coordinator at Research Platform services, I have heaps of competition online for the attention of Researchers interested in learning how to code. I mean check out this link:

http://www.codeconquest.com/blog/the-50-best-websites-to-learn-python/

50 Best? Then how many bad ones are there?

Now this isn’t a bad thing for our community isn’t it, as we have a myriad of ways to learn Python that can be accessed pretty much anywhere.

But why bother coming to our Intro to Python trainings at Resplat? (besides the free tea)

Truth be told, conceptualizing what is going on behind your lines of code can be a bit challenging at first (It definitely was for me). I am very much a visual and kinaesthetic Learner, I like to see the concepts I am learning, touch them, and actually use them in real life, which is a bit hard to do with computer programming. So I thought to myself…. What could we do that the internet can’t do? How can we visualize and manipulate Python data in the real world? While I was brainstorming, I was sitting on my bed, staring at my wardrobe……

and I realized…….

My shoe rack is a list()! So I brought it in to show the class:

Now this isn’t the only visualization, I have also given these data objects backpacks full of methods, and turned my shoe rack into a dictionary as well.

We got to use my shoe dictionary along with if statements to let the computer pick out what shoes I should wear. Here is one of the uh… more interesting examples:

jon_wants_to_run = True
runners_full_of_eels = True

if jon_wants_to_run == True:
    if runners_full_of_eels == True:
        print("%s will do..." %jons_shoes["for pretending to be Rafa"])
    else:
        print("Better put on my %s." %jons_shoes["for running"])
else:
    print('*thinks about eels*')

Output:

'Tennis Shoes will do'

Consequently, I had to change into my tennis shoes halfway through the class, because I wanted to run, but my runners had eels in them. thats what I get for running in lakes i guess?

So long story short Why are we better than the internet at teaching you Python?

Because we can show you real life analogs representing what is going on behind the scenes in your computer.

But wait there’s more!

You will also get to practice your python skills, with our lovely and talented Team Leads helping you complete every challenge

But wait there’s even more! We are tirelessly working replacing all the text in our modules with memes, and I personally love horrific puns and use them all the time in class.

Exhibit A:

(meme made at imgflip.com)

But wait there is even more than Memes and Puns!

Our services don’t end with the class, you will be joining our community where we can continue to help you grow your Python skill set for research and wherever your career takes you!

Be it meetups, extension courses in Python modules, or just getting to know your fellow colleagues hustling the research game. So…

Are you ready to work smarter and not harder?

For more details on our training events follow the Python community at @Resplat, @GeoGarber and @kflekac