Week 9 - Astronomical Art

(Figure 1 The White Knight turbojet
 aircraft climbs over the Mojave
 desert with SpaceShipOne
[Winner of Ansari X Prize]
 attached to its underbelly.)

After the launch of Sputnik during the Space Race in 1957, knowledge of outer space was brought to popular culture. However, even though the original Space Race was over, the race to establish more efficient space exploration technologies flourished. For instance, the X PRIZE Foundation fostered high-profile competitions to “motivate individuals, companies and organizations across all disciplines to develop innovative ideas and technologies that [could] help solve the world’s Grand Challenges that restrict humanity’s progress”.

(Figure 2 Chesley Bonestell)

Space Exploration is important not only to the curiosity of the great beyond, but also for the future of the Earth. Although there are many ways to teach the public about space exploration, one way to show the public the risks and benefits is through astronomical art, which was pioneered by Chesley Bonestell. Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s Bonestell inspired an entire generation of astronomers, artists, writers, engineers and visionaries with his paintings.

(Figure 3 COLLISION II)

One new media interdisciplinary artist to practice in astronomical art is Richard Clar, who currently focuses on site-specific environmental issues. One of Clar’s later projects is called COLLISION II, which focuses on the serious problem of orbital debris. In this project, Clar used a program called COMBO to designate 192 orbital debris objects to make up the orbiting constellation sculpture of COLLISION II. The video simulation shows the “orbiting constellation sculpture from the vantage points of low-Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit during a twelve-hour period that is reduced to twelve minutes”.

(Figure 4 Cosmic Dancer)

Another artist to perform in astronomical art is Arthur Woods. On May 22, 1993 Woods launched his sculpture called the Cosmic Dancer to the Russian Mir Space Station. The Cosmic Dancer “was the first three-dimensional artwork to be specifically conceived for and officially realized in a space habitat”. The purpose of the project was “to investigate the properties of sculptures in weightlessness and to evaluate the integration of art into the human space program”.

Astronomical art promises visualization of the wonders of outer space, and will continue to emphasize the space environment as a new frontier for humanity.  This new type of art could help bring humanity a step closer to understanding the vast outer world and hopefully even inspire others to investigate space. 

Works Cited

"Chesley Bonestell." NOVA Space Art. Novaspace, n.d. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.novaspaceart.com/Artists/ChesleyBonestell.html>.

Clar, Richard. "COLLISION II: An Orbital Debris Constellation Sculpture Richard Clar 2003." Art Technologies. Art Technologies, n.d. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.arttechnologies.com/site-2005/projects/collisonII.html>.

Clar, Richard. "Richard Clar." Art Technologies. Art Technologies, n.d. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.arttechnologies.com/>.

Figure 1. Scaled Composites, LLC. The White Knight turbojet aircraft climbs over the Mojave desert with SpaceShipOne attached to its underbelly. 2004. Photograph. How Stuff WorksWeb. 30 Nov 2013. <http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/spaceshipone-2.jpg>.

Figure 2. Bonestell, Chesley. Chesley Bonestell. 2010. Photograph. NOVA Space ArtWeb. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.novaspaceart.com/Artists/pix/Bonestell.jpg>.

Figure 3. Clar, Richard. COLLISION II: An Orbital Debris Constellation Sculpture. 2003. Photograph. Art TechnologiesWeb. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.arttechnologies.com/site-2005/images-2005/old-image/collision2-small.jpg>.

Figure 4. Woods , Arthur. Cosmic Dancer. 1993. Photograph. Mir Space Station. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.cosmicdancer.com/upload/images/manakov-20.jpg>.

Woods, Arthur. "Cosmic Dancer Introduction." cosmic dancer - a space art intervention by arthur woods. Arthur Woods, n.d. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.cosmicdancer.com/cosmic_dancer_introduction.php>.

“ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION.” Nokia Sensing Challenge. n.d. PDF File. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.nokiasensingxchallenge.org/files/nokiasensingxchallenge.org/press_kit/X_PRIZE_Foundation_Backgrounder.pdf>.

Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-9-view?module_item_id=970456>.