Week 9 | Space + Art

“What is it like in space?” Many astronauts have revealed their own experiences in space through interviews or articles in newspapers. Humans have always dreamed about spaceflight, looking into the sky, stars, and planets since antiquity. Physical space exploration became possible through the development of rockets during the early 20^th century. Space exploration was stimulated by a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States and the Soviet Union created their own missile programs after World War II. More specifically, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into space on October 4 in 1957. The first moon landing by the American Apollo 11 mission occurred on July 20 in 1969. Since then, humankind has been exploring space, landing on the Moon, Mars, Venus and Titan together with habitation on the Skylab, Salyut, MIR space stations and the International Space Station (ISS). Now, space is no longer a remote frontier, and participation in space research is now accessible to the public people who are interested in.

 Astronaut Marsha Ivins on board the space shuttle Atlantis in 2001, her fifth mission

Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite orbited Earth at 939 to 215 km in 1957

NASA’s administrator James Webb remarked, “Important events can be interpreted by artists to give a unique insight into significant aspects of our history-making advances into space. An artistic record of this nation’s program of space exploration will have great value for future generations and may make a significant contribution to the history of American art.” NASA started commissioning artists for documenting and capturing the drama of their mission on canvas. In NASA’s art program, artists translate NASA’s mission “to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown” into their amazing artworks.

 NASA/ART: 50 Years of Exploration

 “Astronauts on the Moon” - Before Neil Armstrong walked on the lunar surface; Norman Rockwell provided a compelling depiction of what the first step on the moon would look like;  

Rockwell, seen at top at the Johnson Space Center, was commissioned by NASA for this work

 ‘Moonwalk 1’ by Andy Warhol, 1987 (silkscreen on paper)

 “When Thoughts Turn Inward” - Water color by Henry Casselli. 

The painting shows astronaut John Young during suit-up for the first space shuttle mission.

Like astronauts, artists are continuously exploring the unknown things. Based on the fact that they can visualize the visions of future from engineers or scientists, artists can play the most significant role in the space exploration industry. Now, artists are creating their own institutional frameworks for cooperative interaction with the wider space and culture communities. The Slovenian KSEVT (Cultural Center of European Space Technologies) from Vitanje, which is a remarkable architectural structure, is an example.

Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies(KSEVT)

“What is it like to be human in space?” In answering this question or at least getting an idea about living in space, aerospace artists have been contributing a lot through visualizing space exploration on canvas or other medium.

References

"A Brief History of Space Exploration." The Aerospace Corporation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2016.

"An Astronaut Reveals What Life in Space Is Really Like." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, n.d. Web. 28 May 2016.

"Celebrating the Life, the Career & the Art of Robert McCall." McCall Studios. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2016.

Dunbar, Brian. NASA. NASA, 21 July 2008. Web. 28 May 2016.

"Free Enterprise." Free Enterprise. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2016.

Nagy, Attila. "27 Paintings From the Most Famous Space Artist On Earth (And Off)." Gizmodo. N.p., 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 May 2016.

"Space Exploration." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 May 2016.

"SpaceX." SpaceX. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2016.