Space+Art

 The other topic we discussed this week was space and art, which was also very interesting. It was fascinating to see how space and art are related because I had never thought the two were. In the first lecture, we learned about the history of humans and space, by talking about Copernicus and his belief in the heliocentric model of the solar system. In addition, we learned more about the history of space with a lecture about the space race in the fifties. This competition between the Soviets and the United States, which took place during the cold war, had much impact on the math and science of the younger generation of Americans. After the Soviets launched Sputnik, the U.S. government decided to put more money into math and science education. Humans have constantly been interested in space and society, which is seen in much of our popular culture even today.

This idea of having a space elevator, is possibly becoming a reality. It used to be just science fiction, however scientists are now saying that this could in fact happen. This elevator would stretch from earth into space, and would haul cargo into the earth’s orbit. This design is being proposed by LiftPort, which the elevator would be about 62,000 miles high. This space elevator would be used for tourism, as well as further exploration of space. In addition, this elevator could also be built to travel to other planets, like Mars.

While researching more about the intersection of art and space, I found an artist that was inspired after going into space. His name is Alan Bean. Bean was a former astronaut, who walked the moon on Apollo 12, however became a painter later on in life. In the photo below, he is discussing his painting on exhibit at the National Air and Space museum. After Bean left NASA to become a full time artist, it surprised many of his colleagues. He did his art in his own way: by experimenting with colors, adding different textures from his spacesuits, and also incorporated dust particles as well. Another painter named Michael Caroll, states that “space art informs us and inspires us.” By bringing in this painting of space to the public eye, this helps make space a more influential topic in the lives of Americans.

Citations

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