Over the course of this course, we have studied how art relates to and enhances certain forms of technology and sciences. We have seen the very small (nanotechnology) and now we have seen the very large (space). The sheer range of sizes of these different fields and objects reminds us how small and insignificant we humans are in the scale of things. This website,
The Scale of the Universe, is an interactive website that will help you visualize the size of the smallest and the largest objects of our universe, and everything in between.
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The Pale Blue Dot
"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives." Carl Sagan |
Earth, and all of us, is only a tiny speck in the vast, ever expanding universe. So what is it about space that urges our imaginations and spurs exploration? Space has been the subject of TV shows, movies, and literature as the final frontier- something to be explored and studied, and also something to fear. The TV series Star Trek followed a group of explorers of the starship Enterprise, as they navigated through space, meeting races from different planets. Their mission was seen as noble, as if space exploration is something that is necessary to do.
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| Star Trek, "boldly go where no man has gone before" |
As a nation and as a world, we have in the past few decades pushed space exploration. We have sent men to the moon, cameras to deep space, to Mars, Venus and more. We have countless satellites circling our globe, discovering what it's like past Earth's atmosphere. And though, space travel and exploration may seem like a superfluous thing, not readily aimed at helping society, it is important. I think it is important for us humans to discover what is out there and I believe that it is up to artists to make sure the public feels the same. Since space is so large, it is hard to conceptualize using our normal senses. We need artists to find new ways for participants to understand space in a cultural context.
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Makrolab scientist work to create multiple dimension project, difficult to perceive, just like outer space.
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Sources:
"CODED UTOPIA." Continental Drift. 27 Mar. 2007. Web. 27 May 2015. https://brianholmes.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/coded-utopia/
"Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers." Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers. Web. 27 May 2015. http://spaceart.org/leonardo/vision.html
NASA. NASA. Web. 27 May 2015.
http://www.nasa.gov/
"The Scale of the Universe 2." The Scale of the Universe 2. Web. 27 May 2015.
http://www.htwins.net/scale2/
"BAM/PFA - Audio & Videocasts." BAM/PFA - Audio & Videocasts. Web. 27 May 2015.
http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/podcasts/ATC/peljhan
Hi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteI can’t help but agree with you that we have been exposed to such interesting aspects of art that encourages and expands science and technology. I also think that science and technology do the same for much of the art we have had the privilege of seeing. This week’s lectures about space were filled with small details that not everyone is aware of about how space travel began and grew into what it is today. For example, I’ve heard about Laika several times, so I know she was the first living animal to go to space, but I did not know that the battery in the shuttle died causing her to die after just six days in space. Although, we learned that it is possible to send a living thing to space, I think that the Russians may have rushed the process and should have taken more care to ensure the battery in the shuttle would last. In addition, I feel that it would have been more ethical to wait until the technology was ready to send a human because humans are the only ones who are truly able to give consent. Having said that, I also think it’s important for us to keep pursuing space travel as long as everyone involved is able to give consent to take the journey. With the knowledge that space travel is now commercial to some extent I image there will be brilliant art in the near future depicting inspirations from exactly what the artists have seen in space. I look forward to learning about the lengths science, technology, and art will reached in the future.
Hi Caroline, I think that space exploration is definitely a fascinating topic to study, right now more and more private companies are trying to explore ways to make space travel available for ordinary citizen. At the same time many art work such as movies and tv shows are created based on their fascination of the unknown world. I often wonder if there is any other life forms existed in other galaxies, and whether the continual space exploration is considered safe or unsafe for humanity. Many of these artworks pose the same questions but largely toward a negative sense, often times, space is depicted as a dangerous place because of its mysterious entity, and many "aliens" are described as evil and intended to hurt humanity instead of embrace it. To me, I don't sit well with all these uncertainties, but it is exactly because of these uncertainties, artists are able to bring new invention. I look forward to the day that commercial space travel is available, and I believe that further space exploration could bring more benefits to humans as well
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