BUTTE, Mont. — Everyone knows Montana Tech is an engineering school, but the university took on an art project by using 3-D printers to recreate a famed sculpture bit-by-bit. Those involved in the project said this was something completely different from anything they’ve ever done.
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“It definitely is an art project, and that’s part of what made it fun for the students and for me it was something a little bit different and unusual,” Montana Tech Associate Professor Nathan Huft said.
Montana Tech students worked with Montana State University and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to make a replica of a 19th-century sculpture called the "Death of Cleopatra." The replica sculpture is now on display at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.
Reproducing the life-size statue was a continuous effort of trial and error for the Tech engineering students.
“Some things didn’t work, some things worked well, some things worked well for a while and didn’t work in the long run,” Huft said.
Montana Tech seniors Daniel Tapp and Jadon Bingham spent their fall semester reproducing the project using 3-D printers running 24/7. They even continued working on the project after graduating.
“I think that shows the dedication of Tech students and their willingness to see a project through,” Huft said.
The project recreated the 1876 sculpture created by Edmonia Lewis, who was a Black and Indigenous artist. Her brother, Samuel W. Lewis, was a prominent business owner in Bozeman who funded Edmonia’s art education and work. The Museum of the Rockies wants to celebrate the siblings by bringing the replica sculpture to Bozeman.
Museum officials say Edmonia was a true trailblazer in art.
“Part of her story was battling the societal expectations where women, especially people of color, weren’t allowed to be in the arts; they weren’t allowed to be doing this classical stuff,” Museum of the Rockies Interim Manager Brian Helms said.
The original three-ton marble sculpture is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The replica on display at the Museum of the Rockies weighs about 150 pounds and is made from 115 pieces.
