Week 9: Space & Art

Outer space has always been something that has caught my eye and was fascinating to me. However, I didn't really see how it could connect to art until this week's unit. According to the lectures by Professor Vesna, space and art are connected not only through the countless discoveries made by scientists, but also the pop culture in our society (Vesna, 2018). A prime example of the evidence of space in film would be Star Trek. Not only does this movie series inform the viewers of the expansiveness and mystery in space, but also has had a significant impact on space technology and exploration (Howell, 2016). 

(Movie cover for the famous movie series, Star Trek)

Another example of how space and art come together is a very specific example in an art project called Literary Constellations by digital artist Nick Rougeux. The concept behind this endeavor is to artistically depict the first sentences of classic books as constellations of stars (Oulton, 2018). Constellations are obviously a very space-intrinsic concepts, where even the natural formation of them in the sky look like an artform. Now, Rougeux takes this to another level, where he takes the idea of constellations, while utilizing the artform of literature, to create a piece of artwork that culminates all of these (Stinson, 2017). 

(An example of the artwork by Nick Rougeux)

Finally, this week's unit reminded me of my first event, where I visited the California Science Center and walked through the outer space section. One thing I realized is the art behind designing a spaceship that is capable of flying through space. The dimensions, shape, and overall appearance has to be efficient and economical, yet display an elegance about it, which we place in the hands of aerospace engineers (Littman, 2012). Overall, space and art have an apparent connection that is continuing to grow as we discover more about outer space. 

(The Endeavor Exhibit at the California Science Center)

Images Cited

Calzada, Ruby. “Endeavour Exhibit at California Science Center.” NASA, NASA, 4 June 2015, www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/Shuttle/endeavour_preceremony.html.

Oulton, Emma. “This Artist Turns Stories Into Constellations.” Bustle, Bustle, 25 Apr. 2018, www.bustle.com/p/this-artist-turns-stories-into-constellations-the-results-are-magical-34108.

“Star Trek (TV Series 1966–1969).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0060028/.

References

Howell, Elizabeth. “Star Trek: History & Effect on Space Technology.” Space.com, Space.com, 2 Feb. 2016, www.space.com/31802-star-trek-space-tech.html.

Littman, Michael. “Art Form Function | School of Engineering and Applied Science.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, 12 Dec. 2012, engineering.princeton.edu/news/2012/12/11/art-form-function.

Oulton, Emma. “This Artist Turns Stories Into Constellations.” Bustle, Bustle, 25 Apr. 2018, www.bustle.com/p/this-artist-turns-stories-into-constellations-the-results-are-magical-34108.

Stinson, Elizabeth. “Beautiful Literary Star Charts Map Famous First Sentences.” Wired, Conde Nast, 3 June 2017, www.wired.com/2017/01/beautiful-literary-star-charts-map-famous-first-sentences/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Space + Art.” Lecture 1. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/888567/pages/unit-9-view?module_item_id=16300833>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Space + Art.” Lecture 2. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/888567/pages/unit-9-view?module_item_id=16300833>.