From October 11, 2019 to April 26, 2020, the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration in New York exhibited “Sisters in Liberty: From Florence, Italy to New York, New York.” The exhibit was a collaboration between Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and the Opera di Santa Croce, a nonprofit organization in charge of the Franciscan Cathedral Santa Croce. Through art and multimedia presentations, the exhibit looked to start an international conversation about the meaning of liberty and how the concept had evolved.
The exhibit featured an 80% to scale replica of Pio Fedi’s “Liberty of Poetry,” housed at the church. It is said to have served as the basis for the Statue of Liberty. “Liberty of Poetry” honors Giovanni Battista Niccolini, a poet who inspired and supported the Resorgimento the Italian struggle for self-determination.
With permission from the Vatican, Kent neuroscientist Robert Clements and Josh Talbott, both of whom have a background in 3D imaging, traveled to Florence to scan the statue over a three-day period using technology provided by Exact Metrology.
Kent State team. From left to right: Nate Mucha, Robert Clements, David Hassler, Joshua Talbott, JR Campbell, Tammy Honesty, Steve Sawicki, Tetta Askeland and Alex Barnhart.
Kent State University rented the Artec Eva scanner and Artec Studio software. Chris Lafferty at Exact Metrology provided the university with equipment, training and support. The Artec Eva, provided by Artec 3D, is used for making a quick, textured and accurate 3D model of medium sized objects. It scans quickly, capturing precise measurements in high resolution. Not only does it capture almost any type of object (including black and shiny surfaces), but it is used in numerous industries including quality control, heritage preservation, forensics, automotive, medical, aerospace and prosthetics. Artec Studio makes it easy to obtain accurate 3D models. It features an advanced smart mode that guides users through post-processing, automatically selecting the most effective settings for the data and producing a high precision 3D model. It offers best in class texture and geometry tracking, thus eliminating the need for targets on objects. Whether using Autopilot or manual mode, the software never compromises on precision. Furthermore, powerful algorithms process data in seconds and Artec Studio features a full range of advanced settings. Users can scan and process data on a tablet.
After scanning the statue, Clements and Talbott returned to Kent State to process 30 to 40 gigabytes of data and create a blueprint for a 3D printer.
Freshmade3D, a Youngstown-based start-up company, printed the replica in three sections, so the statues could be transported easily to New York. The statue was painted by a team of students at Kent State and combines sand and resin to replicate the original.
Commenting on this project, Chris Lafferty said, “This was a great experience for us as we got to see the finished product and how Exact Metrology contributed to this. We look forward to more collaborations like this in the future.”
Different angle scan with Artec Eva.
