Week 9: Space + Art

The iconic Pillars of Creation. Two images taken from the
Hubble Space Telescope, the left on the visible light spectrum
and the right on the infrared light spectrum. From this, one can
easily see how space's beauty inspires artists.

This week’s topic of space brought the entirety of course material together. My initial thought when thinking about how space and art have been connected since ancient times was how ancient civilizations created art based on what they believed the cosmic bodies they observed in the night sky meant. Constellations took the form of animals and warriors, and deities were assigned to what we now call planets. Humanity’s fascination with the cosmos has led to countless cultural and scientific developments. One notable scientific development was Copernicus’s depiction of a heliocentric universe and Galileo’s and Kepler’s later affirmation of this revolutionary model that led to the foundation of Newtonian physics and the remarkable science that followed (Brown).

However, artists’ contributions to humanity’s understanding of space cannot be overlooked. Artists are just as fascinated and inspired by the universe as are scientists, and their work has led to some incredible discoveries. Kip Thorne, physicist at California Institute of Technology, crossed the border between the two cultures when he reached out to director Christopher Nolan and visual effects studio Double Negative in order to make a realistic movie about black holes: Interstellar (Aaron). Their daunting task was to create an accurate depiction of a spinning, supermassive blackhole. In the movie’s development, both scientists and artists worked together to get the beautiful phenomenon displayed on screen in the movie. In fact, in order to get more realistic pictures, Double Negative had to make novel modifications to their code in order to capture the true accuracy of the black hole (Vincent). In the end, artists were given power to adjust how the final visualization appeared on screen so that audiences would best understand the physics. It’s these visualizations and graphics developments that could help scientists model more cosmic phenomena in the future.

Obayashi's Concept

But before humanity looks into interstellar space travel, companies on Earth are currently looking for cheap, efficient ways to just get into Earth’s orbit. Japan’s Obayashi Corporation took inspiration from Arthur C. Clarke’s concept of a space elevator. Obayashi now plans to have a functioning space elevator by 2050 that would connect Tokyo to an orbiting space station 22,000 miles above Earth’s surface (Gaia). A space elevator’s construction would be the perfect marriage between space’s cultural and scientific influence over society. 

The space elevator is an ambitious project that relies on the scalability of carbon nanotubes by 2030 (Gaia). Right now, there are artists like Arthur R. Woods, who refers to himself as an astroartist, that are creating sculptures specifically for their presentation in the weightless environment of space. Woods also is the founder of the OURA Foundation, a cultural and astronautical organization dedicated to introducing, nurturing, and expanding a cultural dimension to humanity’s astronautical endeavors (Woods).

In 1993, Woods's Cosmic Dancer sculpture 

was the first 3D artwork officially 

sent into space.

It’s amazing to see how the great expanse of our universe inspires both scientists and artists, leading to collaborations that push both research and the art field forward. I look forward to seeing what developments will come in the next few decades and hope to be alive when interstellar travel is realized.

References

Aaron, Jacob. “Interstellar's True Black Hole Too Confusing.” New Scientist, New Scientist, 13 Feb. 2015, www.newscientist.com/article/dn26966-interstellars-true-black-hole-too-confusing/. 

Brown, Michael J. I. “Copernicus' Revolution and Galileo's Vision: Our Changing View of the Universe in Pictures.” The Conversation, Monash University, 30 May 2016, theconversation.com/copernicus-revolution-and-galileos-vision-our-changing-view-of-the-universe-in-pictures-60103. 

Gaia. “Japanese Company Expects to Have Space Elevator Built By 2050.” Gaia, Gaia Latest, 29 Jan. 2018, www.gaia.com/lp/content/japan-space-elevator/. 

Vincent, James. “Interstellar's Fake Black Holes Are Helping Actual Scientific Research.” The Verge, The Verge, 16 Feb. 2015, www.theverge.com/2015/2/16/8044457/interstellar-black-hole-simulations-science. 

Woods, Arthur. “Cosmic Dancer - a Space Art Intervention by Arthur Woods.” Cosmic Dancer 2.0: Arthur Woods : Space Artist, www.cosmicdancer.com/arthur_woods_artist_biographical_information.php.

Bibliography

Aaron, Jacob. “Interstellar's True Black Hole Too Confusing.” New Scientist, New Scientist, 13 Feb. 2015, www.newscientist.com/article/dn26966-interstellars-true-black-hole-too-confusing/.

Arthur, Woods. “Cosmic Dancer - a Space Art Intervention by Arthur Woods.” The Cosmic Dancer Sculpture - a Spaceart Intervention on the Mir Space Station by Arthur Woods, cosmicdancer.com/.

Brown, Michael J. I. “Copernicus' Revolution and Galileo's Vision: Our Changing View of the Universe in Pictures.” The Conversation, Monash University, 30 May 2016, theconversation.com/copernicus-revolution-and-galileos-vision-our-changing-view-of-the-universe-in-pictures-60103.

Carlisle, Camille M. “New Look at Eagle Nebula.” Sky & Telescope, 11 Jan. 2015, www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/new-look-at-eagle-nebula-0112201423/.

Gaia. “Japanese Company Expects to Have Space Elevator Built By 2050.” Gaia, Gaia Latest, 29 Jan. 2018, www.gaia.com/lp/content/japan-space-elevator/.

James, Oliver, et al. “Gravitational Lensing by Spinning Black Holes in Astrophysics, and in the Movie Interstellar.” Classical and Quantum Gravity, vol. 32, no. 6, 13 Jan. 2015, pp. 1–41., doi:10.1088/0264-9381/32/6/065001.

Vesna, Victoria. “8 Space pt1 1280x720.” YouTube, Uconlineprogram, 29 July 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZIqTR332l8.

Vincent, James. “Interstellar's Fake Black Holes Are Helping Actual Scientific Research.” The Verge, The Verge, 16 Feb. 2015, www.theverge.com/2015/2/16/8044457/interstellar-black-hole-simulations-science.

Woods, Arthur. “Cosmic Dancer - a Space Art Intervention by Arthur Woods.” Cosmic Dancer 2.0: Arthur Woods : Space Artist, www.cosmicdancer.com/arthur_woods_artist_biographical_information.php.

Woods, Arthur. “Cosmic Dancer - a Space Art Intervention by Arthur Woods.” The Cosmic Dancer Sculpture - a Spaceart Intervention on the Mir Space Station by Arthur Woods, cosmicdancer.com/.