Week 9: Space + Art
For a long time, space remained unknown and unexplainable, yet through the work of both artists and scientists, a vast amount of knowledge regarding space has been produced and communicated throughout society. What stood out to me from this week’s material was how great of an impact art has had on the understanding and exploration of space, as artistic fictitious ideas, such as Arthur Clarke’s Space Elevator, have actually been turned into reality. What was once an idea in a scifi novel excited and encouraged the minds of engineers, such as Jerome Pearson, to publish technical papers on the concept.
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| Image of Clarke's Space Elevator from wired.com |
Artists can further be seen as the “fuel of space exploration” as commented by Annick Bureaud, a member of the Leonardo Space Art Project, through the early works of Chelsey Bonestell. One of his many space paintings, Saturn from Titan, was one of the first pieces of space art that truly conveyed to the masses the realness of space. His artistic ability and knowledge allowed him to create extremely realistic images that truly captured what existed in our solar system and inspired space travel.
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| Bonestell's Saturn from Titan painting from bonestell.org |
Similarly, contemporary visual artist Lia Halloran uses a painting and framing technique in her work to give viewers the impression that they are looking through a telescope, making them more engaged with the pieces and providing more of a sense of realism. These types of works of art are essential as they help shed the mysteriousness of space for those both outside and inside the scientific and artistic disciplines.
The use of art to explore and promote the many ideas of space is also found in cinematography, such as in the films E.T. and Star Trek, which help stir the imagination of not only its average viewers but artists and scientists as well. As the subject of space continues to be intertwined in popular culture, not only is a better understanding developed, but more ideas are generated, which helps foster space and technology innovation.
Additionally, the relationship between artists and scientists becomes stronger and more fluid. This can be seen in the Science, Art Unite exhibit back in March in which 25 artists were picked to design work based off of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Here art and science come together to create unique pieces that not only are inspired by a scientific innovation, but in turn may inspire future scientific research and discoveries.
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| Two cyanotype works appear in Lia Halloran's exhibit "Your Body is a Space That Sees Us." |
The use of art to explore and promote the many ideas of space is also found in cinematography, such as in the films E.T. and Star Trek, which help stir the imagination of not only its average viewers but artists and scientists as well. As the subject of space continues to be intertwined in popular culture, not only is a better understanding developed, but more ideas are generated, which helps foster space and technology innovation.
Additionally, the relationship between artists and scientists becomes stronger and more fluid. This can be seen in the Science, Art Unite exhibit back in March in which 25 artists were picked to design work based off of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Here art and science come together to create unique pieces that not only are inspired by a scientific innovation, but in turn may inspire future scientific research and discoveries.
REFERENCES
Ritter, Rick. "Science, Art Unite For Exhibit Inspired By NASA Telescope." CBS Baltimore. N.p., 4 Mar. 2017. Web.
Spudis, Paul D. "Chesley Bonestell and the Landscape of the Moon." Air & Space Magazine. N.p., 14 June 2012. Web.
Vesna, Victoria. “Space Exploration + Art P;art 1” Desma 9: Art, Science and Technology. Los Angeles, CA. July 29, 2013. Lecture. Web.
Vesna, Victoria. “Space Exploration + Art P;art 1” Desma 9: Art, Science and Technology. Los Angeles, CA. July 29, 2013. Lecture. Web.
Vesna, Victoria. “Space Exploration + Art Part 6" Desma 9: Art, Science and Technology. Los Angeles, CA. May 30, 2012. Lecture. Web.
I really like how you intersected space and art so thoroughly throughout your blog. I've never seen Lisa Halloran's work before this week and I think her works provide a very interesting perspective for the viewer who is seeing space as if through a telescope, but it only portrays a moment in time rather than real time. Based on how light travels throughout space, however, I suppose it's impossible for anyone to see space in real time since they're actually looking at it in the past or future.
ReplyDeleteYour first few sections were more so explaining the intersection between art and space which was useful and helped me follow along. Then once you brought Lisa Halloran's work into play it really helped me see what you were talking about making it feel engaging. Your last two paragraphs were my favorite because you put in your own opinion. Though we aren't graded on it you still used good word choice when describing space and art like fluid.
ReplyDelete