Mesh, Texture, Meta-data: A Media Archaeology of 3D file formats

Milnes, Tom ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5181-2063 (2026) Mesh, Texture, Meta-data: A Media Archaeology of 3D file formats. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. ISSN 1748-7382

Preview

Text (Peer-reviewed article for Convergence journal) milnes-2026-mesh-texture-meta-data-a-media-archaeology-of-3d-file-formats.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract / Summary

This article develops a media-archaeological account of three-dimensional imaging formats, focusing on .obj, .stl and .ply. It treats the .obj folder as a format assemblage in which spatial data (mesh), surface data (texture) and instructional data (material/metadata) remain technically separable but become visible as a coherent image only through software coordination. A selective history of 3D formats shows how industrial demands for storage, interoperability and portability have shaped the appearance and circulation of spatial images. Case studies of Sophie Kahn, Hito Steyerl and Alan Warburton examine how artists isolate, preserve and restage the seams of this layered construction. Kahn exposes the inference and repair required to turn scanned points into printable bodies; Steyerl converts the operational texture map into a political image of discontinuity; and Warburton reveals rendered visuality as an adjustable system of materials, shaders and parameters. The article argues that 3D formats shape contemporary visual culture by determining what spatial data can move between systems, by normalising the composite image as coherent visual output, and by producing format-specific residues that artists make available for critical perception. It extends format studies into 3D imaging and shows how artistic practice can operate as a media-archaeological method for examining computational images from within.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1177/1354856526149254
ISSN:	1748-7382
Subjects:	Art History & Theory Creative Art & Design Computing & Data Science Creative Art & Design > Fine Art Philosophy & Psychology Photography Creative Art & Design > Photography
Department:	Academy of Innovation and Research
Depositing User:	Tom Milnes
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2026 12:50
Last Modified:	05 Oct 2026 12:50
URI:	https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/id/eprint/6618

View Record (staff only)