Week 9: Space + Art

Image 1: Sputnik - Engineering a World First

      When I think about space and art, I think infinite imagination. Before the age of space exploration, artists and the general public had no real choice but to rely on their imagination for what existed in space.  The Space Race began in the late 1950's sparked an era of space related fantasy fiction.  People were enamored with ideas about space exploration, particularly the entertainment community.  As Vesna highlighted in lecture 6, television shows and movies such as The Jetsons, Lost in Space, Star Trek,  had a tremendous influence in popular culture. Shows like this, are another example of how science and technology has influenced the art realm.

Image 2: The Jetson's: George with Elroy's Space Cubs
troop where they've become lost on the moon

      Chesley Bonestell, an American artist thrived in his artwork during the space race. Much like the entertainment culture influenced popular culture on space, Bonestell did so with his cover art on science fiction magazines "including Astounding Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy Science Fiction" (Cheslea Bonestell).      

      One of the aspects of art that I never sincerely thought about was its literal static nature.  "Gravity, as a terrestrial environmental factor, may hardly be considered as essential to the creation of art, yet it has profoundly influenced and determined both the conception and the perception of art since its beginnings"(Woods). Arthur Woods, a space and physics enthusiast sought out to change this with the Cosmic Dancer.  The Cosmic Dancer is a lightweight, three-dimensional geometric sculpture and designed for space.  As Woods mentions, most art has a specific orientation for perception, but the Cosmic Dancer does not.  It floats freely in space just as the cosmonauts do, allowing the sculpture to have a unique view from all different perspectives.

Image 3: Cosmonaut Gennadi Manakov and the Cosmic Dancer
on the Mir Space station, 1993

      Similarly to Woods's Cosmic Dancer, was the exhibition, Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity.  Through mediums such as photography, sculptures and film, they "feature floating performers, a public flotation tank, and skateboarders who flout the laws of physics...evoking the golden age of space exploration" (Forde).
     The space age certainly sparked a revolution.  Throughout this course we have learned about the continuous influences each of the three cultures have on one another. "The space age was possible because for centuries the cultural imagination was fed by artists, writers, and musicians who dreamed of human activities in space" (Malina).  It is the continued work of artists, scientists, and technologists who keep us moving toward new discoveries and possibilities.

References:

[1] "Chesley Bonestell." Bonestell. N.p., n.d. Web 1 June 2017. <http://www.bonestell.org/>.

[2] Forde, Kathleen. "Dancing on the Ceiling: Art and Zero Gravity Curated by Kathleen Forde :   EMPAC Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center: Troy, NY USA." N.p.,  n.d. Web. 1 June 2017. <http://zerogravity.empac.rpi.edu/>.

[3] Malina, Roger. "The Leonardo Space Art Project Working Group." Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers. N/p., n.d. Web. 02 June 2017. http://spaceart.org/leonardo/vision.html.

[4] Space Pt6. Victoria Vesna. Uconlineprogram, 30 May 2012. Web. 1 June 2017.  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYmOtFjlj0M>.

[5] Woods, Arthur. "Cosmic Dancer - a Space Art Intervention by Arthur Woods." The Cosmic  Dancer Sculpture - a Spaceart Intervention on the Mir Space Station by Arthur Woods. Greater  Earth, n.d. Web. 2 June 2017. <http://www.cosmicdancer.com/index.php>.

Images:

[1] Millard, Doug. Sputnik - Engineering a World First. Digital image. Science Museum. N.p., n.d.  Web 2 June 2017.  <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/exhibitions/cosmonauts/race-to-      space/sputnik>.

[2] Novak, Matt. George with Elroy's Space Cubs Troop Where They've Become Lost on the  Moon. Digital image. Smithsonian. N.p., 20 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 June 2017.  <http://www/smithsonianmag.com/history/recapping-the-jetsons-episode-06-the-good-little-scouts-  99204721/>.

[3] Woods, Arthur.  Cosmonaut Gennadi Manakov and the Cosmic Dancer on the Mir Space Station,  1993. Digital image. Greater Earth, n.d. Web. 02 June 2017.  <http://www.cosmicdancer.com/cosmic_dancer_painted_sculptures.php>.