Week 9: Space + Art

Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Our view of the night sky, and the stars, planets, and galaxies that fill it, have always been a source of awe-inspiring inspiration. Before we knew anything about space, artists provided their interpretation of what ‘space’ was through their work. As we’ve discovered more about our place in the universe, society culture and art have all been radically affected. In our lectures this week, Professor Vesna put an emphasis on the importance of the space race in American society during the mid 20th century, as well as the ways in which it has changed our society in the long run. 

The International Space Station

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” - Carl Sagan. This is such a relevant quote that helps explain the relationship that humans have with space. It is the close relationship between the imagination of space and what we may discover in its endless void, and the development of science bringing imagination to fruition. NASA’s space station is a perfect example of something that was imagined in the space fantasy of countless authors, and in films/series like Star Wars and Star Trek, but is now a reality. 

The final frontier

In his statement on spaceart.org artist Annick Bureaud states: “It is artists and their work that reveal to me the essence of space for human beings in the twentieth century, as well as my place in the cosmos.” I think this sentiment is something most of us can relate to. It is a combination of our imaginations, and what has become reality as a product of all the sciences we’ve discussed in this course, that can help us discover our place in the cosmos. Space represents the unknown, and because of this can tell us so much about ourselves. There is no limit to what we can discover, and to what we can imagine. I think this is why our relationship with the cosmos is so important. It always motivates us to learn more, and it keeps us humble. 

References:

"An Eames Office Website." Powers of Ten Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2015.

"Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers." Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2015.

NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 05 June 2015.

Sagan, Carl. Cosmos. New York: Random House, 1980. Print.

Sagan, Carl. Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. New York: Random House, 1994. Print.