Cultural landscape visualization: The use of non-photorealistic 3D rendering as an analytical tool to convey change at statue of liberty national monument

3D visualization of heritage sites allows for a deeper understanding of historical context, and also serves as a powerful tool for preservation. The ability to visualize heritage sites also opens up new ways of presenting them to the public. 3D models created using contemporary rendering technology are extremely effective at depicting historic buildings and landscapes to an audience of all ages and backgrounds. However, highly realistic renderings of historic sites may be based on speculations about how a site appeared, yet their realism conveys a sense of certainty about the historic site being presented. Non-photorealistic rendering offers several advantages over a photorealistic approach, as it provides a wide range of illustrative styles that can be experimented without the pressure to appear completely realistic or congruous. This research combines 3D modeling and non-photorealistic rendering to document the changes to Statue of Liberty National Monument over six periods of historic significance from 1840 to 2020. The use of 3D models to construct historic models in this project served as an analytical tool which ultimately exposed gaps in its historic documentation, inciting productive and novel debate over the site`s changes over time.