3D technology used in the making of the Oscar Statuettes
The 88th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 28 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood Los Angeles, where the statuettes will look different with the new manufacturer for the first time in 34 years. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced that Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry based in Rock Taven, New York will create its iconic Oscar Statuettes13.5 inches high and weighing 8.5 pounds. She said “with the help of some 21st century technology, we’re able to honour the Oscar’s proud beginnings, as the new statuette exemplifies impeccable craftsmanship and the enduring nature of art”.
Since 1982, the Oscar statuettes have been made by Chicago-based RS Owens & Co, who will use cast-bronze Oscar from 1929 to create a wax mould with the help of a 3D printer, restoring features of George Stanley’s original sculpture based on sketches by Cedric Gibbons, MGM Art Director, and then each wax statuettes is coated in ceramic and cured and fired at 1600ᵒF, which melts away the wax and leaves the empty Oscar form that is cast in liquid bronze at more than 1800ᵒF.hand-cast in bronze, before receiving its 24-karat gold finish.