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Space art, also known as astronomical art, is a genre of art that visually depicts the universe through various artistic styles. It may also refer to artworks sent into Outer space.
The development of space art was closely linked to advancements in telescope and imaging technology, which enabled more precise Observation of the night sky. Some space artists work directly with Scientist to explore new ways to expand the arts, humanities, and cultural expressions relative to space. Space art may communicate ideas about space, often including an artistic interpretation of Cosmology Phenomenon and scientific discoveries.
For many decades, Visual arts have explored the topic of space using traditional painting media, followed recently by the use of digital media for the same purpose. Science-fiction magazines and picture essay magazines were some of the first major outlets for space art, often featuring planets, spaceships, and dramatic alien landscapes. Chesley Bonestell, R. A. Smith, Lucien Rudaux, David A. Hardy, and Ludek Pesek were some of the artists actively involved in visualizing topics such as space exploration and colonization in the early days of the genre. Astronomer and experts in rocketry also played roles in inspiring artists in this genre.
NASA second administrator, James E. Webb, created the space agency's Space Art program in 1962, four years after its inception. Bonestell's work in this program often depicted various celestial bodies and landscapes, highlighting both the destinations and the imagined technologies used to reach them.
Astronomical art emerged as a distinct genre in the 1940s and 1950s. Chesley Bonestell was recognized for his skills in addressing perspective challenges and creating visual representations of astronomical concepts. Contemporary art continue to contribute to the visualization of ideas within the space community, such as depicting theoretical capabilities for interstellar travel and illustrating hypothetical deep-space phenomena.
Astronomical art is the most recent of several art movements that have explored ideas emerging from the ongoing exploration of Earth. Finding its roots in genres such as the Hudson River School or Luminism, most astronomical artists use traditional painting methods or digital equivalents in a way that brings the viewer to the frontiers of Knowledge gathered in the exploration of space. Such works usually portray things in the visual language of realism extrapolated to exotic environments, whose details reflect ongoing knowledge and educated guesswork. An example of the process of creating astronomical art would be studying and visiting Desert to experience something of what it might be like on Mars and painting based on such experiences. Another would be to hear of an astronomical concept, and then seek out published articles or experts in the field. Usually, there is an artistic effort to emphasize the favourable visual elements, just as a photographer composes a picture. Notable astronomical art often reflects the artist's interpretation and imagination regarding the subject portrayed.
Science fiction magazines such as Fantasy and Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, Astounding (later renamed Analog), and Galaxy were platforms for space and astronomical art in the 1950s. Picture essay magazines of the time, such as Life, Collier's, and Coronet, were other major outlets for such art. Today, astronomical art can be seen in magazines such as Sky and Telescope, The Planetary Report, and occasionally in Scientific American. The NASA fine arts program has been an ongoing effort to hire artists to create works generally specific to a particular space project. The program documents historical events in recognizable form for professional artists. The NASA Fine Arts Program operated in an era of forward progress under its first head director, James Dean. Even then, pictorial realism seemed a subset rather than a dominant visual influence.
The works that document Spaceflight situations, such as those referenced above, are similar in concept to government efforts during World War II to send artists to battle zones for documentation. Much of which appeared in contemporary Life magazines. Most of today's widely published space and astronomical artists have belonged to the International Association of Astronomical Artists since 1983.
Albrecht Altdorfer's painting The Battle of Issus (1529) shows the Spherical Earth from a great height. Galileo's sketches of the Moon from the Sidereus Nuncius (1610) were published among other early descriptions of the Moon's topography. In 1711, Donato Creti painted a series of astronomers viewing other planets of the Solar System through a telescope to interest the Holy See in establishing an Observatory.
In 1874, James Carpenter and James Nasmyth's work The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite included photographs of sculpted models of Lunar features, in the marked vertical exaggeration of the actual relief of the Moon.
In 1877, Paul Dominique Philippoteaux and engraver Laplante illustrated Jules Verne's story Off on a Comet, including an imaginative view looking up at the rings of Saturn from the planet itself.
In 1927, Scriven Bolten created lunar landscape images for the Illustrated London News using painted photos of plaster models.
In 1937, Lucien Rudaux painted many works for Sur Les Autres Mondes.
In 1944, Chesley Bonestell's paintings of Saturn seen from its different moons appeared in Life magazine, introducing astronomical art to a wide American audience. Books featuring Bonestell's art include The Conquest Of Space (1949), The Exploration Of Mars (1956), and Life's The World We Live In (1955).
The second Hayden Planetarium Symposium on Space Travel, held in New York in October 1952, resulted in a series of widely read space flight articles in Collier's magazine, illustrated by Bonestell and others.
In 1963, Ludek Pesek's paintings filled the large volumes of The Moon And the Planets, and the 1968 volume Our Planet Earth-From The Beginning.
The 1980 PBS television show and book used the work of many space artists. Host Carl Sagan used such art in several of his books.
Another work, later brought to Earth orbit sometime in the mid-80s, was a study of the golden sunlight on a Soviet space station by Russian artist Andrei Sokolov, carried aboard the Mir starting with modules in February 1986. In 1984, Joseph McShane and Lowry Burgess had their conceptual artwork flown aboard the Space Shuttle utilizing NASA's 'Get Away Special' program. "Art into Space" by Robert Horvitz, Whole Earth Review, fall 1985, pages 26-31. The first sculpture specifically designed for human habitat in orbit was Arthur Woods' Cosmic Dancer which was sent to the Mir station in 1993. In 1995, Arthur Woods organized Ars ad Astra, the first art exhibition in Earth orbit. consisting of 20 original artworks from 20 artists and an electronic archive also took place on the Mir space station as part of ESA's Euromir'95 mission. In 1998, Frank Pietronigro flew Research Project Number 33: Investigating the Creative Process in a Micro-gravity Environment, where he created 'drift paintings' and danced in microgravity space. In 2006, the artist returned to micro-gravity flight to create three new works, one in collaboration with Lowry Burgess; Moments in the Infinite Absolute, Flags in Space!, and a new form of microgravity mobile.
The Slovenia theater director Dragan Živadinov staged a performance called Noordung Zero Gravity Biomechanical during a parabolic flight organized through the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center facility in Star City in 1999. The UK arts group Arts Catalyst, with the MIR consortium (Arts Catalyst, Projekt Atol, V2 Organisation, Leonardo-Olats), organized a series of parabolic 'zero gravity' flights for artistic and cultural experimentation with the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, as well as with the European Space Agency, between 2000 and 2004, including Investigations in Microgravity, Investigations in Microgravity MIR Flight 001, MIR Flight 001 and MIR Campaign 2003. MIR Campaign 2003 HighBeam Artists who participated in these flights and visits to Russia and ESA have included the Otolith Group, shortlisted in 2011 for the Turner Prize, Stefan Gec, Ansuman Biswas and Jem Finer, Kitsou Dubois, Yuri Leiderman, and Marcel·li Antunez Roca.
Richard Garriott visited the International Space Station, via the Soyuz TMA-13 on October 12, 2008, where he displayed an art exhibition, Celestial Matters, during his 12 days in orbit. Celestial Matters included works by ten American artists as well as work Garriott created himself while in orbit, honoring his heritage in art and science. The art was later exhibited at the Charles Bank Gallery in New York City in October 2011.Chow, Denise. 2011. ''
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Space Art Launching from NYC Gallery This Weekend. NBC News, Oct. 14, 2011, 11:48 AM CDT (Source: Space.com). Accessed June 15, 2024. Garriott also exhibited Astrogeneris Mementos , two small works, somewhat reminiscent of memento mori or hairwork, containing locks of hair from Richard Garriott and Owen Garriott sealed in chambers by Steve Brudniak, the first assemblage sculptures exhibited in outer space.Gupta, Anjali (editor), 2013. The Science of Surrealism - Assemblage Sculpture of Steve Brudniak . Merrid Zone. Austin, Texas. 198 pp. (see pages 159-162) Brannon, Mike, 2018. Profile, Steve Burdniak: Psychedelic Surrrealism Texas Style. 71 Magazine, Jan/Feb 2018: 66-75 pp. (see page 71). Accessed June 15, 2024. Challenger Center, Youtube: Richard Garriott Space Video Blog, 2009: Conservation of Momentum . (Brudniak’s Astrogeneris Mementos'' two can be seen at the top of the green bulletin board on the left). Accessed June 15, 2024.
In 2009, NASA astronaut Nicole Stott having brought watercolor paint and watercolor paper with her for the long-duration Expedition 21 mission to the International Space Station became the first astronaut to paint in space.
The Mexico artist and musician Nahum directed the art and science project Matters of Gravity ( La Gravedad de los Asuntos in Spanish), a project reflecting on gravity in its Nonexistence. The first mission consisting only of Latin American artists was executed in a Zero Gravity flight at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 2014. The participating artists include Tania Candiani, Ale de la Puente, Ivan Puig, Arcángelo Constantini, Fabiola Torres-Alzaga, Gilberto Esparza, Juan Jose Diaz Infante, Nahum, and Marcela Armas. The project included the participation of Mexican scientist Miguel Alcubierre and Curator Rob La Frenais and Kerry Anne Doyle.
Performance art has also occurred in space, as with Chris Hadfield's 2013, edited performance of David Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity and Thomas Pesquet's 2017 edited performance of "L'Art de la joie par les Spacelatorz" ."
The nine artist groups selected onboard Sojourner 2020 were:
Humans have engaged in many cultural activities in space, particularly on space stations, recontextualizing terrestrial culture and art.
In 2007, Poor also created Spacefest, an annual gathering for astronauts, space artists, and enthusiasts held in Tucson, showcasing astronaut-artist collaborations and rare artworks.
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