Week 9: Space & Art

As I don't have much of an interest in space, this week's lecture material was a way for me to discover why artists enjoy space and why it is often such a popular center for art, especially in more contemporary pieces.



The introduction of space as an art form, much like nanotechnology, can be traced back to ancient times. More specifically, Roman art depicts discoveries of planets and the Sun as the center of the universe. However, these artworks were highly controversial due to conflicting views with the church, which dictated daily life, beliefs, and ultimately art during this time.


Moving on to more contemporary art, I took away from this week's lectures that space is highly influential in art, particularly because of all the phenomena that are considered highly abstract. Additionally, the concept of stars, planets, and other occurrences in the skies and space are ones with great color and texture, creating a highly inviting selection of source material for art. Additionally, there are so many different scenes, and no two skies are ever the same. The concept of novelty and uniqueness was what intrigued me the most in exploring this topic, and after viewing the material for this week, I can better understand why it is such a highly sought after subject in art.



Works Cited

“Art/Space Is there music in space?” The Kennedy Center, https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/art-space/. Accessed 30 May 2024.

“The artworks floating above the Earth.” BBC, 14 December 2018, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181214-the-artworks-floating-above-the-earth. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Bayard, Émile, et al. “Timeline: Early Space Art.” Princeton University Art Museum, https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/transient-effects/painter-sun/northern-lights-and-worlds-beyond/imagining-un-seeable-early-space-artists%E2%80%94-timeline/timeline-early-space-art. Accessed 30 May 2024.

“The Copernican Model: A Sun-Centered Solar System.” Department of Physics and Astronomy : University of Rochester, https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~blackman/ast104/copernican9.html. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Hartmann, William K. “Exploring the solar system through space art.” Astronomy Magazine, 14 July 2022, https://www.astronomy.com/science/exploring-the-solar-system-through-space-art/. Accessed 30 May 2024.

“The heliocentric model theory (article).” Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/nasa/measuringuniverse/spacemath1/a/the-heliocentric-model. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Johnson, Mara. “Sketching the Stars: How Art Can Advance Astronomy.” Undark Magazine, 3 June 2019, https://undark.org/2019/06/03/astronomy-art/. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Tan, Adlina, et al. “6 Artists and Their Interest in Outer Space.” The Artling, 25 August 2021, https://theartling.com/en/artzine/6-artists-and-their-interest-outer-space/. Accessed 30 May 2024.




Comments

  1. Abygayle WilliamsJune 2, 2024 at 4:31 PM

    Hi Helena! I liked your insights on the connection between art and space! You did a great job explaining how artists have been intrigued by space since ancient times, even though they faced challenges from the church. It's interesting how you pointed out that space offers a lot of abstract and colorful material for artists to work with. I also agree, the fact that every sky is unique makes space art even more captivating.

    ReplyDelete
  2. danielabenitezDESMA9June 2, 2024 at 7:46 PM

    Hi Helena! I totally relate to not having much interest in space. However, there's a part of your blog that I also resonate with, and it's how people see art as a vessel for expressing their fascination with space. While I may not know much about space, I always find myself stargazing or admiring the moon. I remember a while ago during an eclipse, even though I didn't fully understand what was happening, I eagerly got my glasses ready to observe and appreciate this rare occurrence. While I truly enjoy looking at aspects of space, I don't have enough knowledge to identify planets, constellations, or delve into astrology. Reflecting on why this might be, I think it's because I was never really taught much about it. I can't recall a specific grade level where this was part of the curriculum. I wonder if you relate to this as well, or if there might be another reason for your interest in space?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Event 3: Revisiting the Campus Walk

Image
For my third event, I decided to revisit the walking activity from South to North campus that we conducted in week 1 after learning so much more about the intersection between science and art over the past 10 weeks. As a senior, this also served as a period for me to deeply reflect on my time and experience here at UCLA as I walked completely across and around campus. As a statistics major, most of my time was spent in the Boelter and Mathematical Sciences building. Something that I learned this quarter during my research of art on campus is that the flooring of Boelter Hall spells out "Lo and Behold" in binary code, a tribute to the history of the building being the birthplace of the internet.  As I walked through central campus into North campus, I am forced to reflect on the atrocities that took place on our campus a few weeks prior. To be completely honest, watching the encampment was like art to me; the idea of community coming together in the form of physical demonstrat...
Read more

Week 1 Blog Post: Two Cultures

Image
  Here at UCLA, two cultures are so clearly divided– North and South campuses directly distinguish the difference between art and science, from the departments they house to the look and feel of each individual building. UCLA’s campus culture perpetuates the divide with North and South campus, with people from either side shunning each other or shaming each other. The rivalry exists even on social media, with people poking fun at each other when learning that they are not from the same side. As a Statistics & Data Science major, I can feel the distinct divide between science and art. Statistics relies so heavily on precision and refining of models down to the thousandth of a percent, while art provides a free flow space for expression and creativity. The two cannot appear to be more different, but in fact, math and data science can be an art within itself. From a creativity standpoint, mathematical methods and proofs are inventive and creative in their own right. Data visualiza...
Read more