Space & Art

SPACE EXPLORATION & ART

Desma 9

July 2016

I was really looking forward to this week’s lecture because I wasn’t quite sure how space and art could possibly coordinate with one another To my surprise, space artists like Thomas Ruff used images from NASA (the National Aeronautical Space Administration) satellites to illustrate images to give others a view of space. Ruff created the ma.r.s (Mars Reconnaissance Survey), that showed surface depictions of the planet. He then altered these images by adding color to vividly show the planets profoundly cratered topography. This is one way that modern artists are using satellite images to create wonderful works of art 

PHOTOS OF THOMAS RUFF’S IMAGES OF SPACE

The history of space, specifically the Space Race was very interesting to me. Sputnik beating the United States to space ignited a lot of fears in Soviet technology. Between Sputnik and the Apollo, the United States and the USSR poured a lot of money into the Space Race, and many found this to be a huge waste of funds. On the other hand, many new technological advances were made such as laptop computers, satellite television, satellite navigation systems, and even ear thermometers due to the exploration of space.

Satellite Television

A different case of space and art coming together is through pop culture, including movies and television shows. Star Wars, Star Trek, E.T., the Jetsons or Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century all contribute to space and art. The technological advances through shows like the Jetsons made people believe that space colonization wasn’t too far off and was closer than ever before. “The Jetsons” was the distillation of every Space Age promise Americans could muster. People point to “The Jetsons” as the golden age of American futurism because (technologically, at least) it had everything our hearts could desire: jetpacks, flying cars, robot maids, moving sidewalks.” (Smithsonian)

In relation to the videos Carl Sagan’s “A Pale Blue Dot” and the “Powers of Ten”, we are  reminded of how insignificant we really are. When we look at Earth from far far away, we see only a pale blue circle reiterating to us just how enormous our universe really is compared to earth in terms of size and scale. I found these two videos to be the most beneficial for me this week in understanding space and art.

Sources

"10 Tech Breakthroughs to Thank the Space Race for." TechRadar. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 July 2016.

"50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 22

July 2016.

“A Pale Blue Dot.” A Pale Blue Dot. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 July 2016. <http://www.bigskyastroclub.org/pale_blue_dot.html>.

Darknlooking. "Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot." YouTube. YouTube, 2007. Web. 23 July 2016.

EamesOffice. "Powers of Ten™ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Aug 2010. Web. 23 July 2016.

IMAGES

"50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 22

July 2016.

"Amazing Animated Version of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot (Video)." Danthropology. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2016.

Artandsciencejournal. "Artandsciencejournal." Art & Science Journal — Thomas Ruff's Ma.r.s. Series German Photographer... N.p., n.d. Web. 22 July 2016.

"How Does Satellite TV Work?" Pitara Kids Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2016.

"Powers of Ten by Charles & Ray Eames | Short Film." Short of the Week. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2016.