I’ve been running test prints of just the toe of the cat. First on the smaller Ender 3 printer with smaller size nozzle and now on the larger CR-10 S5 printer with correspondingly larger gauge of nozzle. I’ve modified this printer with a direct drive extruder and an improved bed heater. This is the first print I’ve done with the large printer. I am testing all of the parameters and specifications in preparation for replicating this with another 6 printers. There will be a total of seven printers dedicated to producing cathenge. I reckon one will be devoted to each section of the six height segments of the Catolith and the seventh for printing the divider components.
3D Printer Setup for Cathenge Production
I’m setting up a print farm of 7 of these CR-10 S5 printers. This is the first one which I am testing modifications on. This printer has a 500*500*500 mm build space, however the stock print bed only heats a 300*300 area, so I have upgraded this with a 500*500 heat mat. I also added the crossbraces since I anticipate that as the print grows tall and the load heavy that the z-axis will need all the reinforcement it can get.
Next up: I will replace the bowden style extruder with a direct drive extruder for greater printing efficiency and capability.
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3D Printing Catoliths 2022
I’ve opted to print Cathenge myself. It’s a big undertaking – typically people print something the size of an action figure, but it’s possible to do much larger things, and so I’m printing all 6 Catoliths. Doing the printing myself gives me the latitude to experiment with the design and the technique and that is essentially what artistic control is about.
I was able to source high quality yet inexpensive large format 3D printers (Creality CR-10 S5) which give me a 500*500*500 mm build space to work with. I am setting up seven of these printers at my studio in Stinson Beach. Using all seven printers at once I estimate I can produce one cat in 3 days. I’ll begin production of Catoliths by the second week of April and hazard to guess I’ll finish all six Catoliths within a month.
Of course, I get to keep the printers which opens up a whole new world of artistic possibilities for me. Building on my long experience in 3D modeling, I envision new “Crazyological” sculptures 3D printed and embellished with paint, lighting effects, interactivity and/or kinetics. It’s quite exciting!
Crazyology Inaugural Ball 2021
On June 20th David Normal opened the Institute of Crazyology at 1000 Van Ness. The “Crazyology Inaugural Ball” celebrated the installation of the Cathenge Burning Man installation, and was a reunion and respite from the restrictions of the pandemic for the SF BMan and Cacophony Society crowd.
The photo gallery below are photos taken by San Francisco society/art photographer, Herman Privette, who did a fabulous job of documenting that evening’s proceedings.
Cathenge Prototype in David Normal Studio Spring 2019
This 3D printed Catolith prototype “Kittolith”. Printed by Christopher Christensen. This prototype features motion activated interactive purring by Theremin Barney. Ultimately, we settled on touch sensitivity through “Capacitive Sensing” as the mechanism of interactivity for the large Catoliths at Cathenge, Black Rock City 2019.
Photos by Dennis Helladanko and Damon Bivianos
Los Angeles photographers, Dennis Helladanko and Damon Bivianos, documented Cathenge with these stunning photos.
Cat Priestess Saya dances at Cathenge!
Installation creator David Normal at Cathenge.
David Normal with Cat Priestesses at Catolith Fortuna with a cocked head.
Cat Priestess Saya invoking Holofelinity at Cathenge 2019
Cat Priestess Saya Olivia Hayashi dances a ceremonial dance as she invoked the power of Holofelinity, Universal Cat Consciousness at Cathenge installation for Burning Man 2019.
Catolith and Burn Brazier
A lone Catolith with Burn Brazier in the foreground. The Burn Braziers were created by flame effects artist, Brad Allen, using WWII era propane tanks that are spherical. Brad cut these tanks in half to create monumental hemispherical braziers that provided an “eternal flame” type effect that greatly enhanced the sacrosanct atmosphere of the Cathenge Cat Temple at Burning Man 2019. The thickly dusty atmosphere shows clearly the beams of light shooting forth from the eyes of the Catolith – an important part of the Cathenge concept; emulating the cats shooting lasers from their eyes internet meme.
Cathenge by Night! – Burning Man 2019
A view of Cathenge at night with all the Catoliths aglow, their Cat Chakras expressing the power of Holofelinity. In the center can be seen Brad Allen’s three Burn Braziers inviting people to gather around their elegant light and their nurturing warmth.
Cathenge the Cat Temple at Burning Man 2019
Cathenge at Black Rock City silhouetted in the setting sun upon the playa of the Black Rock Desert. The Catoliths stand in a 100′ diameter circle around the central platform where the three mighty propane burn braziers built by Brad Allen are mounted. A scaffold for shibari (Japanese Rope Bondage) was erected by Los Angeles rope artist, Argent Lloyd. Photo by Gurps Chawla.
