Space + Art

We end our journey in Desma 9 at space, the final frontier. Space exploration has helped us address the fundamental questions about our place in the Universe and the history of our planet Earth. Though landing on the moon had been a monumental event in our history, virtually nothing of space has actually been explored. Carl Sagan reminds us about our humble existence: the Earth is just a pale blue dot in the sea of stars and dust that makes up our Universe. I highly recommend you to visit the site:  http://scaleofuniverse.com/ an interactive flash animation that provides a scale and information of different objects in our universe.

The Earth, dubbed 'Pale Blue Dot', taken by Voyager 1.

So how do we go about understand the vast unknown and unexplored that is space? What is the relationship between art and space? Well, art has the potential to expand our comprehension of the universe. Artists and writers transform this scientific mystery into images and and scenarios that introduce space to the general public as a broader form of understanding. Artist Arthur Woods created the Cosmic Dancer to investigate the properties of sculpture in zero gravity and to examine the integration of art into space. This sculpture is characterized by twisted geometric shapes that enabled it to perceived from an infinite number of perspectives and allowed them to "dance"in space.

The Cosmic Dancer

Richard Clar is another artist that brings together art and space. He transforms state-of-the-art technology into contemporary art that encompasses environmental issues ranging from space environment issues and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). I was most intrigued by his Space Flight Dolphin (SFD), an art-in-space SETI sculpture deployed in low-Earth orbut from the cargo bay of the US Space Shuttle. The sculpture transmitted a signal modulated by dolphin voices that may be sensed by extraterrestrial intelligence. As it orbits the Earth, the dolphin voices are monitored around the world, providing a link between different people and cultures and transcending the boundaries of time and culture.

Space Flight Dolphin

Space is truly marvelous to me. There are no firm boundary where it begins and ends. The Earth is just one little planet in our solar system in only one of the many solar systems in the milk way galaxy and there are countless galaxies out there. Exploration of space allows us to realize the importance of our planet and its history. While we may be small and insignificant in the Universe, the Earth is still our home.

  

Works Cited

Car, Richard. "Space Flight Dolphin." Art Technologies. N.p.,n.d. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://www.arttechnologies.com/site-2005/projects/space-dolphin.html>

Dorneanu, Lucian. "Did You Know How Insignificant the Earth Really is in the Universe?" Softpedia. Softpedia, 7 Jul 2007. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://news.softpedia.com/news/Did-You-Know-How-Insignificant-the-Earth-Really-Is-in-the-Universe-59306.shtml>

"Solar System Portrait - Earth as Pale Blue Dot." Visible Earth. NASA, 6 Jun 1990. Image. 1 Dec 2013. <http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=52392>

Watterson, Bill. "There's Treasures Everywhere." Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes, March 1996. Image. 1 Dec 2013. 

Woods, Arthur. "Cosmic Dancer Project Information." Cosmic Dancer. Cosmic Dancer, 22 May 1993. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://www.cosmicdancer.com/cosmic_dancer_project_information.php>

Woods, Arthur. "Art in Space." Cosmic Dancer. Cosmic Dancer, 22 May 1993. Image. 1 Dec 2013. <http://www.cosmicdancer.com/art_in_space.php>

"Why We Explore." NASA. NASA, 30 Sep 2013. Web. 1 Dec 2013 <http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore/why_we_explore_main.html>