Milkmaid’s Pitcher - Born-Digital Multimodal Art Project
The Milkmaid’s Pitcher is not just a generative artwork - it is a living, breathing entity in the world of digital collections. It will be presented at the Born-Digital Collections, Archives, and Memory Conference, London 2025. This animated 3D sculpture breaks fresh ground by existing simultaneously in 3D and augmented reality (AR), offering a unique fusion of physical presence and digital fluidity.
An ever-changing sculpture
The Milkmaid’s Pitcher is a generative, animated 3D sculpture split into two parts. One half exists in 3D, while the other comes to life in AR. Together they create a dynamic visual experience that is constantly evolving. This duality allows the audience to witness its endless transformation in real time, offering a work of art that never settles, never repeats and never ends. As the Sculpture continues to change, the viewer is also able to capture fleeting moments of it existing. By taking ‘snapshots’ of a unique state, they can download a static 3D model. These models, each unique, form a collection of one-of-a-kind digital artefacts collected from different locations around the world via the AR interface.
Creating a global collection
The process of creating the Milkmaid’s Pitcher is as innovative as the artwork itself. By engaging audiences in different locations, AR allows participants to contribute to the project. Each captured ‘snapshot’ becomes part of a global collection - a network of unique 3D models, each linked to the time, place and context of its creation. These digital artefacts symbolise a fusion of local environments and global connectivity. From beach shells to urban artefacts, the models capture fleeting digital moments, transforming the act of artistic observation into a collaborative process.
AR and the living artwork
Augmented reality plays a crucial role in this project, transforming the way audiences interact with art. With AR, the audience doesn’t just observe, they participate. The sculpture, visible through their devices, blends into their surroundings, creating a mixed reality experience that redefines artistic engagement. The endless transformation of the Milkmaid’s Pitcher also emphasises the ephemeral nature of digital art. While the pitcher itself exists in perpetual flux, the snapshots allow the audience to grasp a tangible piece of its infinite evolution, bridging the gap between the dynamic and the static.
A blueprint for future art
As a born-digital art project, the Milkmaid’s Pitcher offers a vision for the future of multimodal art. It demonstrates the possibilities of merging 3D and AR, transforming static collections into living, evolving ecosystems. The Milkmaid’s Pitcher is more than a work of art; it’s a journey into the intersections of memory, place and innovation. It is an invitation to see the world not just as it is, but as it could be - ever-changing, collaborative and deeply immersive.
