Sculptors Are Losing Jobs To A Robot For centuries, sculptors like Michelangelo and Canova have invested big chunks of their lives into turning Italian Carrara marble into some of the most famous statues in history. And now a robot is doing comparable work — in a fraction of the time. A 13-foot zinc alloy robot named 1-L is doing the work of an army of Michelangelos and Canovas, doing several months of work in just a few days. “It doesn’t go on holiday,” says owner Giacomo Massari, who runs the company Robotor. “It doesn’t even sleep.” That’s not to say actual artists aren’t involved in the creation of the new masterpieces. Big names like Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan bring their ideas to life as 3-D computer images, which are then sculpted by 1-L, Massari says. “It saves a lot of waste,” he says. “If something is wrong, or you don’t like it, you can just go back. The cool thing about this technology is that we allow the artists to think without any limits.” Do you consider these sculptures to be “art?” Why or why not?
