The First In-House 3D Model

By Jeanne Brasile and Jacquelyn Deppe

Walsh Gallery is delighted to announce its first use of in-house 3D modeling in its current exhibit, Seton Hall Re-Collects.

Screenshot of the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session) being edited in Blender.
Screenshot of the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session) being edited in Blender.

For our first model, the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session), a gift of Peter Ahr, was used. The medal was scanned in the TLTC’s Digital Scanning Lab using the KIRI Engine app and later edited in Blender to create the final file. By uploading the file into a 3D viewer plugin on WordPress, it allows visitors to rotate and zoom in on the front of the medal while appreciating the back displayed by its physical counterpart. Using 3D technology has allowed us to display both the front and back of the medal simultaneously!

Image of the reverse side of the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session).
Image of the reverse side of the Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session).

Medal
Pope John XXIII Medal for the Opening of Vatican II Council (1st session)
C. After
gold plated metal
2″
1965
Gift of Peter Ahr
2021.01.0015

 

 

Make sure to stop by and check out Seton Hall Re-Collects in the Walsh Gallery, a crowd-sourced exhibition featuring the university’s collections. Objects on display were selected by those who have worked with them, collected them or used them for research. Participants include students, faculty, staff, interns, volunteers, donors and scholars from other institutions – each contributing a label written in their unique voice which describes their interest in the object(s) they chose. The show includes of a wide array of art, artifacts and rare books including Japanese toys, historic 19th century ledgers, 17th century engravings, Roman and Byzantine coins, a print by Salvador Dalí and a medal from the Second Vatican Council – among other items. The show is on view September 12 – December 9, 2022.

The show’s inspiration draws on a series of exhibits organized by the Art Department in the 1980’s titled Seton Hall Collects. Each exhibition highlighted a related group of objects; traditional Japanese prints, Modern paintings and contemporary American prints. This reboot similarly highlights the collections though the selections are not limited to any one medium or type of object to emphasize the breadth and scope of the university’s holdings. Labels reflect the writers’ perspectives, favoring personal and contextual information about the objects over their physical attributes which was once the fashion for exhibitions. Gallery Director Jeanne Brasile conceived of the exhibition when she found an old exhibition catalogue from 1984 featuring Japanese prints while researching the Asian art collection. “This exhibition harkens back to the history of Seton Hall and the people who cultivated the many collections we enjoy today, while bringing this time-honored format into the future. It was exciting to see the exhibition take shape through the eyes of our collaborators.”

Seton Hall University’s beautiful main campus is located in suburban South Orange, New Jersey, and is only 14 miles from New York City — offering students a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. Seton Hall’s nationally recognized School of Law is prominently located in downtown Newark. The University’s Interprofessional Health Sciences (IHS) campus in Clifton and Nutley, N.J. houses Seton Hall’s College of Nursing and School of Health and Medical Sciences as well as the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. The Walsh Gallery, located on the first floor of the Walsh Library is open 9am to 5pm, Monday—Friday. Groups of 8 or more must register in advance. Admission to the gallery and its programs is free and
open to the public.

And stay tuned for more 3D models!

Object of the Week: Melvin Dalton Olympic Qualifying Medal and Certificate

Mel Dalton – Olympic Medal of Merit
medal
2 3/16″ diameter
1928
2020.05.0001
Department of Archives and Special Collections, Seton Hall University

 

This Olympic qualifying medal and certificate were presented to Seton Hall University alumnus, Melvin Joseph Dalton, a member of the United States Olympic Team for the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics.  Dalton ranked first place at the Olympic trials on Travers Island (Pelham), New York in the steeplechase run, making him eligible to compete in the summer Olympics that same year.  In the 1928 Olympic Games, he came in seventh place in the steeplechase, a grueling 3,000-meter obstacle race in which runners jump over four hurdles and a water pit.  Dalton’s personal best in the Steeplechase event had him clocking in at 9 minutes, 33 seconds.  Three Finnish runners took the gold, silver and bronze medals: Toivo Loukola, Paavo Nurmi and Ove Anderson.  Toivo Loukola set a new world record at 9 minutes 21 seconds – 12 seconds faster than Dalton’s personal best.  The men’s 3000-meter steeplechase event at the 1928 Olympic Games took place on August 1 and August 4.

Mel Dalton – Olympic Certificate of Merit, certificate, 5 11/16” x 7 11/16”, June 17, 1928, 2020.05.0002, Department of Archives and Special Collections
Mel Dalton – Olympic Certificate of Merit, certificate, 5 11/16” x 7 11/16”, June 17, 1928, 2020.05.0002, Department of Archives and Special Collections

The Amsterdam Olympic Games of 1928 were officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad.  These games saw the participation of 2883 athletes from 46 countries competing in 109 events.  Athletes from twenty-eight nations won gold medals, a record which would stand for forty years, and it was the first time women were allowed to compete in athletics and gymnastics events. Women would not be allowed to compete in the Olympic steeplechase event until 2008 – 80 years after Dalton’s Olympic competition.  The 1928 games also witnessed the first lighting of the Olympic flame at an opening ceremony, as well as the establishment of the protocol of Greek athletes entering the stadium first, with host nation athletes entering last.

For video footage of the 1928 Steeplechase event in which Dalton ran, click here.

A native of Newark, New Jersey, Dalton attended Seton Hall from 1925 to 1929 and was later inducted into the University’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980.  Dalton ran track for Seton Hall as a student, and in 1925 was undefeated in all his college cross-country races and 2-miles track races. Dalton would later become a member of the priest community.

Black and white image of alumnus Melvin Dalton in his Seton Hall track uniform, in a stance so he appears ready to run
Photo of Melvin Dalton in uniform, Galleon Yearbook, Class of 1927, pg. 115

 

Object of the Week: Sketch of Mother Seton Medal

Sketch for Mother Seton medal
designed by Dieges and Clust
paint and pencil on paper
14 1/2″ x 11 1/2″
c. 1969
2018.17.0001a
MSS 0006
Monsignor Noe Field Archives & Special Collections Center

 

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774 – 1821) was born in what would later become the United States and was canonized on September 14, 1975, making her the first American born saint.  After the death of her husband while traveling abroad in 1803, she converted to Catholicism and was received into the Catholic Church in March of 1805 at Saint Peter’s Church in New York.  Mother Seton established the first Catholic girls’ school in the United States, and later founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.  Her profound impact is still evidenced today by the number of institutions inspired by her work throughout the nation, especially in Maryland and New York City where she had resided.  Pope John XXIII noted at her beatification in 1963, “In a house that was very small, but with ample space for charity, she sowed a seed in America which by Divine Grace grew into a large tree.”  That tree still thrives in the continuation of her charitable work in the service of others, especially women and children.