Into the Archive
Introduction
We set out to do this project because we believe that clothing tells the stories of the people who wore it and the communities they were part of. We were curious what we could learn about Carleton’s past by digitally reconstructing a number of items found in the Carleton archives. As we worked with the decades-old jackets, hats, and accessories we found that through 3D modeling we could preserve these items and their fragile materials as well as bring new life to the history and traditions that created them. Unlike the static photos currently held in the archive’s database, 3D models offer an immersive way to interact with the past. Materials fade over time, for example the leather jacket we worked with had red rot and was deteriorating in our hands, but digital reconstruction has the power to freeze it permanently as it is in time. This means that each model displayed here is a window into part of student life at our school across generations. Our process involved a combination of archival research and photogrammetry. We worked with Carleton’s Digital Archivist, David Bliss, to select six clothing items across roughly a century of Carleton history. After using turntables and controlled lighting to capture hundreds of overlapping photographs, we reconstructed them in 3D using Metashape Pro before finally uploading them into the interactive AR experience which can be viewed here. As you browse the rest of the site, we hope that you see more than the models of these items but the stories they tell. from the dated rules they symbolize to the political messages pinned to their brim to the jackets that once filled the halls. These pieces belonged to Carleton students who walked on the same bald spot and lived in the same buildings as us, separated from us only by time. We sought to make this digital exhibit a vivid and lively representation of Carleton’s history, explore more below.