It has just been revealed that the V&A museum has acquired two 3-D printed guns for its permanent collection. Controversially, the company that created them, Defense Distributed, shared the gun's template online earlier on this year (meaning anyone with a 3-D printer could DIY a firearm) before the State Department forced it to be removed.
In the video accompanying the article on Mashable, demonstrations of the 3-D gun show that this object isn't just a plaything; in fact it as deadly as its original counterparts. So, why is the museum adding it to the permanent collection? Kieran Long, the V&A's senior curator for architecture, design, and digital, explained to Dezeen, "Ugly and sinister objects demand the museum’s attention just as much as beautiful and beneficial ones do. Museums should be topical, responding quickly to world events when they touch our areas of expertise."
The guns were first made available to view as part of the V&A's involvement with Design Week. We can only wonder where their permanent home will be in the vast structure that is the V&A in South Kensington. Let us know in the comments section where you stand on this hot-potato of a topic. Is this a progressive move or just needlessly provocative? (Mashable)