2017 – Modern Dowry: Visualizing One's Debt and Assets in the Shape of a Teapot

Data materialization is a workflow developed to create 3D objects from data-informed designs. Building upon traditional metalwork and craft, and new technology’s data visualization with generative art, this workflow expresses conceptually relevant data through 3D forms which are fabricated in traditional media. The process allows for the subtle application of data in visual art, allowing the aesthetic allure of the art object or installation to inspire intellectual intrigue. This entry describes the technical and creative process of Modern Dowry, a silver-plated 3D-print teapot on view at the Museum of the City of New York, June 2017-June 2018. Modern Dowry was created for an invitational exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York titled “New York Silver: Then and Now.” The curator’s charge was for the artists to take inspiration directly from the Museum’s collection of Colonial Silver. I was inspired by the history of silver objects holding the wealth of the family directly. Silver platters, porringers, and vessels were presented to a bride upon her marriage from her family, as a dowry of sorts. In comparing these stories to my personal financial situation, and the contrast of entering my marriage with a significant sum of student loan debt and joining that to my husbands, I created this teapot utilizing the figures of my debts and assets as represented in the convex and concave curves that make up the teapot footprint. (Courtney Starrett) Sources: Courtney Starrett (2017) Modern Dowry. Courtney Starrett (2015) Data materialization projects. Related: Also see our other entries on data-driven tableware.