The topic of this week was space and art. People have always looked up at the stars and wondered, but it wasn’t until the European Renaissance that science about the cosmos flourished. Now fast forward to 1957 and the start of the space race, beginning with the launch of Sputnik (Vesna). This triggered a back and forth between the United States and Russia with each side trying to one up the other. The Russians sent the first humans to space, but the Americans were the first to land a human on the moon in 1969 (Vesna).
Chesley Bonestell is thought of as an American pioneer of space art, and he pushed to mankind into space (“Bonestell”). Perhaps without him, man would have never traveled to space! He also opened the door for many space artists today. Additionally, there is still so much to be explored in space that an artist’s imagination has no limits on the topic.
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| Saturn as seen from Titan, by Chesley Bonestell 1944 |
Space travel and research has entered more into the private sector as of recent years, and this may have influenced the creation of KSEVT. KSEVT is a cultural center for space programs (“Cultural Space Programme”). Many aspects of art have infiltrated space technologies, and KSEVT even had a theater performance in zero gravity!
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Theater performance in zero gravity
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Additional artists have used the influence of zero gravity. One such artist is Benjamin Bergmann in his sculpture and performance piece Black Moon. The work consists of a black helium balloon in an elevator during the day until it is released into the night sky. This is symbolic of the existential freedom in the nothingness (Forde). This piece is interesting because it uses the idea of space being vast and made mostly of nothing.
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| Black Moon |
References:
"Benjamin Bergmann." Art on Site. Web. 29 May 2015.
"Bonestell." Bonestell - Home. Web. 29 May 2015.
"Chesley Bonestell." Nova Space Art. Web. 29 May 2015.
"Cultural Space Programme." KSEVT. Web. 29 May 2015.
Forde, Kathleen. "Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity." Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity Curated by Kathleen Forde : EMPAC Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center : Troy, NY USA. Web. 29 May 2015.
Hi Brooke, I had no idea that there was a theater performance that was carried out in space, that's amazing! I wonder how that would look and what alterations they had to make. It is also interesting how you say that some artists use zero gravity more as a concept to make their art, more of an idea than a medium. I found an artist online at NASA that paints three dimensional paintings in zero gravity!
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