Week 9 - Space + Art:

This week, Professor Vesna introduced the idea of space and art and explained in her lecture video that "we have all been fascinated by the sky, the stars, and the planets" since the beginning of time. The unknown galaxy has continued to bring excitement to artists' lives and inspire them to create artistic pieces all around the world. One artist in particular, is recognizable for being highly specialized in the field of technological space art, Vincent Di Fate (Biography, 2004). Vincent is famous for his paintings of distant environments such as space and etc. His paintings of space are currently displayed in the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

The influence of space and art also inspired many artist to grow great interest in rockets and the stars before the 1960's. It was also during the time of the cold war that the influence of space and art were demonstrated in the space propaganda where both the USSR and the United States were in a race to space. Both USSR and the United States produced art pieces to show that their country was in the lead for developing advance space technology (Fenlon, 2012). 

If we look back in history, space films and science fiction novels on space have always been fictional. Before 1969, living and working in space seemed impossible and people can only imagine how the unknown galaxy looks like in space (NASA, 2014). Today, living and working in space is possible all thanks to artists, scientists, and engineers studying space technology. Artists continues to be inspired by the concept of space which brings us closer to understanding the solar system on a deeper level. 

The space station from 2001

Vesna, Victoria. "8 Space Intro 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 29 July 2013. Web. 23 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dPAmpBiVHY>.

"Vincentdifate.com." Vincentdifate.com. Vincent DiFate, 2004. Web. 23 May 2015. <http://www.vincentdifate.com/biography.html>.

 "1968 Science Fiction Is Today's Reality." NASA. NASA Gov, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/2001_anniversary.html#.VWv0089Viko>  

 Nastasi, Allison. "Cosmic Art Installations Inspired by Space." Flavorwire. 5 Apr. 2014. Web.  <http://flavorwire.com/449482/cosmic-art-installations-inspired-by-space>

 

Fenlon, Wesley. "How Sci-Fi Propaganda Art Influenced The US and Soviet Space Race." Tested. 3 Apr. 2012. Web.<  http://www.tested.com/art/43726-sci_fi-art-propaganda-across-cultures/>

Images:

"1968 Science Fiction Is Today's Reality." NASA. NASA Gov, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. Image. <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/2001_station.jpg>

Fenlon, Wesley. "How Sci-Fi Propaganda Art Influenced The US and Soviet Space Race." Tested. 3 Apr. 2012. Web. Image. http://files.tested.com/photos/2012/04/02/55-37211-teaser1.jpg>

Fenlon, Wesley. "How Sci-Fi Propaganda Art Influenced The US and Soviet Space Race." Tested. 3 Apr. 2012. Web. Image. <http://files.tested.com/photos/2012/04/02/55-37213-bonestell-1.jpg>