Bruce Louis for Art-Sheep
A team of scientists and artist Diemut Strebe have managed to grow a clone of the most famous ear in the world: Vincent van Gogh’s ear.
They achieved this by extracting DNA material from a living relative of the Dutch painter, the great-great grandson of his brother Theo. Incorporating also engineered components, Strebe and his team of scientists used a 3D printer and computer imaging technology to mold the cells into being identical with van Gogh’s ear, which he famously self-severed in 1888. The project is called “Sugababe”, is ongoing and was exhibited at ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany last year. The visitors were able to speak to the ear via a microphone system and during the opening of the show on 30 May, 2014, Noam Chomsky was the first to speak to the replica. The sound is processed by a computer software which attempts to reproduce the action of hearing by converting the noise in order to simulate real-time nerve impulses. Although, the voice of the speaker is never really heard by the ear, which only makes a breaking sound, having as result for absence instead of presence to be laid out.
via designboom
