Ancient Art In A Modern Medium

Morehshin Allahyari, is an Iranian-American new media art activist, educator and cultural curator. On July 3rd 2015, Al Jazeera Media Network (AJ+) published a video interview featuring Morehshin, titled “This Artist Fights ISIS With A 3D Printer”. That’s right, in response to ISIS destroying ancient Assyrian artifacts in the Mosul Museum in Iraq, Morehshin recreated them — with a 3D printer.

Let’s take a moment to realize how imperative Morehshins astute artistic reaction is. For thousands of years the pinnacle of Assyrian art has sustained itself by clinging on to the works of it’s ancestors. The only way a culture can thrive is through the artistic adaptation to modern audiences and outlets. That is not to say that there haven’t been artists in the past that found new ways to express their heritage, but none have been able to take the main stage that these ancient works have outstayed for thousands of years — until now. Morehshins 3D prints of these artifacts takes a pivotal step in this transition and it couldn’t have come at a more crucial time.