Category Archives: Space Arts

Space Arts

Space Art: History + Galleries of Ron Miller and others

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Space artist Ron Miller writes about the history of art inspired by astronomical phenomena and space exploration : The Art of Space, Envisioning the Universe – Space.com

Space art can be divided into at least two broadly distinct sub-genres: astronomical painting and hardware art. The former is an extension of landscape painting and continues as an art form that has existed for centuries. Astronomical art has roots in the Pre-Raphaelites ,a school of art that demanded precise observation and depiction of nature, and their scrupulous attention to reproducing nature. It follows many of the same precepts as any successful landscape art. Its outstanding practitioners today include Don Davis, Michael Carroll, David Hardy and William Hartmann.

Here is a gallery of Miller’s art: Out of This World: Ron Miller’s Spectacular Space Art – LIFE.com

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And here is a gallery of a wide array of space artists: An Astounding History of Scientific Space Art from the Past 200 Years – io9 –

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Space Arts

Art of planetary science

The  Lunar and Planetary Laboratory on the University of Arizona campus recently hosted The Art of Planetary Science, an

An exhibition of art, created from and inspired by the solar system and the scientific data with which we explore it.

See the slideshow of the artworks and this video:

More about the exhibition:

Space Arts, Space Music

Houston Grand Opera commissions opera based on the Columbia space shuttle tragedy

The Houston Grand Opera received a A $750,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that will help commission five new musical works, including a chamber opera based on the Columbia space shuttle tragedy: $750,000 grant will help Houston Grand Opera produce 5 new works – Rant & Rave

“O Columbia,” based on the space shuttle calamity, will premiere in autumn 2015. Created by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Royce Vavrek, the chamber opera will look at the tragedy from multiple perspectives, including those of the control room at Johnson Space Center; a family waiting at Cape Canaveral in Florida; the Columbia crew; and Houston-area residents who witnessed the shuttle’s end.

Former Space Shuttle program manager Wayne Hale was initially “appalled” at the idea but was won over after he visited the HGO group a couple of times and heard what they were creating:  O Columbia -Wayne Hale’s Blog

It was not merely good, it was great.

It put space exploration in a historical context. It used the point of view of a young person aspiring to be an astronaut. There was nothing neither maudlin nor titillating. At one point there were tears among the audience. It was powerful.

After the reading we were asked for comments; the astronauts spoke first, then we all had the chance; praise for the approach, minor corrections to the script, overall an emotional release.

The music is in composition, much later the sets and costumes will be constructed, rehearsals will begin. The curtain should go up in October 2015. Just like all space projects, the schedule will take some time.

I think it will be great.
You should mark your calendar and go.

GPS, Space Arts

‘Satellite Lamps’ project highlights the GPS

 The Global Positioning System or GPS has become like weather imaging and Direct-to-Home TV – another space application that is pervasive in our lives and yet taken totally for granted. Most of the public now uses GPS routinely on cell phones but is not aware that GPS is enabled by a constellation of satellites.

The Satellite Lamps art/education project by designers Einar Sneve Martinussen, Jørn Knutsen, and Timo Arnall that aims to “illuminate” how the otherwise invisible GPS is actually a dynamic, variable, and active system. Their approach involves a set of lamps whose brightness depends on the strength of GPS signals detected by a receiver attached to each lamp. 

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As the satellites go in and out of view of the receivers, the lamp’s glow will vary. This is particularly so in cities where tall structures limit direct views of the sky.

ConstellationGPS

The project is outlined at Kairos 19.1: Martinussen et al, Satellite Lamps – Introduction

In Satellite Lamps, practices and languages of design are put to use to explain and situate the phenomena of GPS. We use photography, filmmaking and fieldwork, electronics and product design, as well as design observations on culture and technology to explore some of the ways in which GPS can be communicated and understood.

This short film also describes the project:

 

More  at Illuminated Orbs Embedded with GPS Receivers Visualize Satellite Technology – PSFK

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