Week 9: Space + Art

Different Perspectives based on Power of Ten

From our present position in space and looking at different perspectives based on power of ten, we can reach the outskirts of the galaxy when we expand our perspectives. Similarly, we can analyze human bodies by decreasing the power of ten, in which researchers study organisms on a molecular level. Using the power of ten, a mathematical principle, we can view lives from very different perspectives. Power of ten gives us a better understanding of the “intense interaction” human beings live through (EamesOffice).

Increasing on the power of ten scale, we view life from space. Copernicus McCulloch Kaepernick came up with a descriptive model of the solar system, where he believed the sun was in the middle of the solar system (Space Pt1). Kaepernick supported his ideas through mathematical calculations to describe Earth’s revolution about the Sun and the tilt of Earth’s rotational axis (Space Pt1). This made people curious about space and artists began creating science fiction based on their imagination of the universe.  
Sputnik

Science fiction became popular and led scientists to explore space. Sputnik was the first satellite to be put into orbit around the Earth (Space Pt2). Sputnik was not only meant for scientific purposes in space exploration, but is also an artwork. It was a shiny steel sphere with four antennas trailing behind it that would reflect light so that it could be seen and heard by the human population (Space Pt2). As an art piece, Sputnik was an important space art because it could be showcased and influence other countries to quickly develop their own space craft to send to space. This was important since other countries wanted to demonstrate they have power through these scientific inventions.

Space art also allows the public to explore and understand space. It is said that “what distinguishes artist from viewer appears to be the degree of immersion” (Coded). The public can experience and walk through space when they look at space art and understand artists and scientists’ ideas and experiences. Since astronomy is difficult to comprehend without visualization, space art demonstrates how the solar system works, what the universe contains, and more. As 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… they make me dream and move me deeply” (Leonardo).


Space Art


References
"CODED UTOPIA." Continental Drift. N.p., 18 May 2009. Web. 02 June 2017.
EamesOffice. "Powers of Ten™ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 02 June 2017.
Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 29 July 2013. Web. 02 June 2017.
Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Pt2 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 29 July 2013. Web. 02 June 2017.
"The Leonardo Space Art Project Working Group." Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers. MIT Press, 1996. Web. 02 June 2017.

Images
Michael, Sage. "Sputnik." Beyond Geek. N.p., 08 Apr. 2015. Web. 04 June 2017.
Nagy, Attila. "27 Paintings From the Most Famous Space Artist On Earth (And Off)."Gizmodo. Gizmodo.com, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 04 June 2017.
"Powers of Ten." Bill Whittle. N.p., 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 June 2017.

Comments

  1. katelyn noelleJune 6, 2017 at 12:45 PM

    This is such a thought out and well-organized post. It synthesized and presented this week's topics in a logical manner. Beginning with the perspective given by the Powers of Ten video, to Kaepernick's heliocentric model and artists influenced by him, to the fascination with space and its pervasion of popular culture, your post concludes with the relation between art and space science. You helped me comprehend Space + Art more than I did before. I especially appreciate the final quote you have included by Annick Bureaud as it encapsulates what I attempted to explain in my own post on the role of artists in our understanding of space

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kayla EberJune 6, 2017 at 9:08 PM

    Very organized and concise post. if you're interested in looking at immersive space art, I'd recommend VR. A lot of VR sets come with a default 'space' setting which is really cool and kind of disconcerting. I liked your diving into and description of the Powers of Ten, and you perfectly described what was covered in parts of the lecture.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 1: Two Cultures

Image
Snow brings up the important idea of society considering art and science as two cultures. I am a Computational and Systems Biology major and have wondered if the two cultures can be used together to improve healthcare. Two Cultures discusses society viewing art and science as two different subjects when they should be viewed as one. He states that the two fields are “comparable in intelligence” (Snow 2), yet each side has a “distorted image of each other” (Snow 4). These perspectives are influenced by our education system (TheRSAorg). Since our education is based on industrialization’s production line mentality, people do not question the segregation when schools teach art and science separately, but view it as a norm. Thus, the idea of two cultures is engrained into their minds.  UCLA Royce Hall, a building in between north and south campus Two cultures are portrayed at UCLA, where north and south campus are divided based on students’ majors. STEM majors spend most of th
Read more

Week 4: Medicine+Technology+Art

Image
The overlap between medicine and art in the form of medical technology applies to society and can be used to prolong and save lives. One such invention is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI is a scan of the human body used to detect brain tumors, cancer, or other conditions. The image scans convey the medical information. MRI scans definitely tell us a lot scientifically, but it uses artistic aspects to provide these results. MRI Machine Before reading Casini’s essay, I never knew an MRI scan included art in every aspect. The sound of the MRI examination is termed “acoustic”, where there is rhythm to the noise (Casini). In addition to sound effects, MRI also has appealing visuals. Within the machine, there is a mirror that “functions as an outside perspective in order to decrease the sense of claustrophobia inside the scanner” (Casini). Through this mirror effect, patients can feel more at ease during the examination. This combination of art and science help create a usable
Read more