Digital Scanning of Bill Reid’s The Spirit of Haida Gwaii at the Museum
Gatineau, Quebec, December 8, 2004 — This week at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC), the famous sculpture The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, displayed in the Grand Hall, is being digitally scanned in order to make a 3D record that will help preserve and protect this exceptional work of art. Visitors at the Museum will not be inconvenienced by this activity and will be able to witness the state-of-the-art technology used in this process.
The scanning procedure is the initiative of the Bill Reid Foundation as part of their effort to create 3D digital records of the major works of Bill Reid. This plaster master pattern of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, his largest and most complex sculpture, was made by hand by Bill Reid at his studio on Granville Island in Vancouver, then shipped to the Tallix Foundry in New York State to make the pouring moulds for the two bronze casts of the work: The Black Canoe, now at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, and The Jade Canoe, now at the Vancouver International Airport. The plaster pattern, donated to the Museum by Maurice and Mary Margaret Young of Vancouver, is a perfect medium for creating this 3D record.
The scanning technology, which allows the sculpture to be digitized without markers being physically placed on it, is of value to the Museum as it will provide documentation about the current physical condition of the artifact and can be used to monitor any future physical changes. It is also a tool for preserving the sculpture and making information readily available online to students and scholars interested in the work of Bill Reid.
Applied Precision Ltd. of Mississauga, Ont., a leading Canadian company in the field of optical digitizing, has been retained by the Bill Reid Foundation to scan The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, using software, developed by the National Research Council of Canada, in which the Canadian Museum of Civilization has had a long-standing interest.
Media Information:
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7167
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7169
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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