Week 9 / Space + Art
May 26, 2022
The most fascinating topic that the DESMA 9 class has explored is the relationship between art and space. Often overlooked, art has historically played a huge role in space exploration and development programs. Beginning in the 1520s, Nicolaus Copernicus first began circulating the idea of a vast solar system- a sun in the middle and plants/moons rotating around it. Although the idea of the sun rotating around the Earth was scientifically proven false, his research globalized the idea of space beyond what was previously discovered. As astronomy began to be studied more in the 1900s, the Cold War starting in 1947 put a spotlight on global space exploration. Just 10 years later, Russian forces launched Sputnik 1 which became the first satellite to ever reach space. Then 2 years later, both Russia and the United States sent their first civilians into space. These events would forever change how humans view space.
Concerning art, a variety of amazing television and movie series were produced in inspiration of the space race. A few films and shows include Star Trek, Star Wars, the Jetsons, and Planet Stories. My favorite T.V. show, as well as millions during the 1970s, was called the Jetsons. The Jetsons, directed by William Hanna, was a global hit based on a family living in space with their dog and robot maid. The show not only explored space, but futuristic inventions we all know and love today. A few of those inventions include drones, holograms, video chat, 3D printing, and even the treadmill.
The space inspired artist that I researched about was Donald Davis who painted the interior of the famous, Stanford Torus. The Stanford Torus was a proposed moon based, NASA living headquarters that could house up to 40,000 full time residents in space. Although scraped due to the increased time and technology it would take to make something like that work, it still highlights the extreme futuristic thoughts of the world during the space race.
Betz, Eric. “A Brief History of Chimps in Space.” Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 21 Apr. 2020, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/a-brief-history-of-chimps-in-space.
Davis, Donald. “Apollo 11- 52 Years and Counting.” Apollo Will Begin a New Era If Space Migration Ever Takes Place, or Shine like a Beacon of Times When Miracles Were Possible If Space Travel Is Abandoned., http://www.donaldedavis.com/2021NEW/Apollo1152.html.
Levier, Guy. “The Leonardo Space Art Project Working Group.” Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers, https://spaceart.org/leonardo/vision.html.
Malate, Abigail. “The Stanford Torus as a Vision of the Future.” The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies, 14 Nov. 2016, https://rockwellcenter.org/student-research/the-stanford-torus-as-a-vision-of-the-future/.
Novak, Matt. “50 Years of the Jetsons: Why the Show Still Matters.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 19 Sept. 2012, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/50-years-of-the-jetsons-why-the-show-still-matters-43459669/.
Peljhan, Marko. “Coded Utopia.” Continental Drift, 18 May 2009, https://brianholmes.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/coded-utopia/.
Valkeapaa, Oula. “Arctic Perspective Initiative.” ARCTIC PERSPECTIVE INITIATIVE, http://arcticperspective.org/.
Hi Alec. I like the fact that in your post you decided to incorporate more of an historical perspective before diving into commentary from media, which I really appreciated and actually thought I could have done better in my own post! Awesome job
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