Tomáš Gabzdil Libertíny (Slovak, born 1979)
The Honeycomb Vase “Made by Bees”
Prototype
Manufacturer: Studio Libertiny
Date: 2006
Medium: Beeswax
Dimensions: 9 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/2″ (22.9 x 14 x 14 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of The Aaron and Betty Lee Stern Foundation
MoMA Number: 444.2008
Several objects in the case to the left were fabricated through rapid manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. By contrast, The Honeycomb Vase was produced through what the artist has called “slow manufacturing”—Libertíny constructed a vase-shaped beehive scaffold (to be removed at the end of the process) and then let nature take its course. Forty thousand bees built the vase, cell by cell, in one week.
One of my favorite pieces from our visit to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.