Week 9, Space + Art
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| "Seperation Over The Pacific" by Chelsey Bonestell |
In the same way that
science influences art, art influences science as well. Chelsey Bonestell
was "... the
leading artist among creators of science fiction
artwork and design" according to Eddie Arruza and Travis
Cornejo. Bonestell began his futuristic artwork before the first airplane flight,
but he portrayed rocket ships and complex maneuvers
like separating parts and fuel cells, which would later be replicated
in the actual production of space crafts. Attila Nagy notes that he even envisioned shuttles
and ferries to transport humans back and forth from Mars.
Though his work was incredibly idealistic at the time, it ended up being
very realistic and the basis for many future scientific designs and
discoveries.
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| Captain James T. Kirk using a Communicator |
The portion of this week's material that influenced me the most was the part about futuristic television shows. Like Chelsey Bonestell, Gene
Roddenberry was also a dreamer. Roddenberry created the television
show, "Startrek," which displayed a multi-race and
multi-national team of scientists and doctors traveling through space to keep
peace in the many galaxies of the universe. His vision of communicators
gave way to the creation of cell phones, his scanners influenced
Xbox Kinect units, his talking computer gave a preview of Siri to the
world, and according to Laurie
Ulster, his universal translator even influenced that Google
Translate App. Roddenberry was so far beyond his time; after his
death, Tom
Lawrence commentated that his ashes, along
with his wife's, were sent into space as a commemoration of his achievements.
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| Hayden Planetarium in New York |
The use of planetariums have long been helpful in teaching about the universe. The Argus Observer notes that elementary schools are even renting inflatable planetariums as an inexpensive way to teach students about the world outside of Earth. The fun shows captivate audiences and show sights that previously could only be viewed by scientists with advanced equipment. Roxie Hammill writes that combining the depictions of the universe with art and music can even tell complete stories and many shows today offer these multi-disiplinary experiences.
Works Cited
Arruza, Eddie, and Travis Cornejo. "The Futuristic Art of Chesley Bonestell." Chicago Tonight. N.p., 3 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/12/03/futuristic-art-chesley-bonestell>.
Bonestell, Chelsey. Seperation over the Pacific. N.d. Gizmodo. 15 May 2015. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://gizmodo.com/the-beautiful-art-that-helped-inspire-space-travel-1704693253#.>.
Curd, Jamie. The Nokia-Made Star Trek Communicator That Never Got Launched. Digital image. N.p., 5 July 2012. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.gadgethelpline.com/star-trek-nokia-communicator/>.
Hammill, Roxie. "Music and Art Blend in 'Once and Future Cities' Planetarium Show." The Kansas City Star. N.p., 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/community/816/article19190118.html>.
Hayden Planetarium. Digital image. American Museum of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/rose-center-for-earth-and-space/hayden-planetarium>.
Lawrence, Tom. "A 'Star Trek' Fan's Final Frontier Encounters." Black Hills Pioneer. N.p., 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 May 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhpioneer.com%2Fblogs%2Fblog_three%2Fblog_three_text%2Farticle_8b7c80cc-edbd-11e4-b416-77c5f609e63e.html>.
Nagy, Attila. "The Beautiful Art That Helped Inspire Space Travel." Gizmodo. N.p., 15 May 2015. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://gizmodo.com/the-beautiful-art-that-helped-inspire-space-travel-1704693253#>.
"Portable Planetarium Offers Hands-on Experience to Students." Argus Observer. N.p., 20 May 2015. Web. 20 May 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argusobserver.com%2Findependent%2Fnews%2Fportable-planetarium-offers-hands-on-experience-to-students%2Farticle_ec623864-ff15-11e4-ae4e-1f1bd6decc38.html>.
Ulster, Laurie. "The Genius of Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek"" Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 3 June 2014. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.biography.com/news/gene-roddenberry-star-trek-45-years-later>.
Hey Zach!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your blog's post this week on Space and its influence on art as well as vice versa. My own post was very centered around this concept because while space itself is a beautiful concept and aesthetically pleasing, its wonders have also promoted a lot of creativity that has been transposed to art. Your example of Captain Kirk's communicator being a sort of inspiration/model for the modern cell phone is a prime portrayal of this effect. In fact, the visions of artists and writers alike have probably contributed just as significantly to today's higher technologies as the researchers and scientists who actually ended up designing them. It is through conceptualizing these "futuristic" inventions that we will produce the technology in the future to further understand and discover space.
Again, thanks for the great post!
Jing Gong
(904048027)
Hi Zach,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that many of the greatest scientific discoveries and design were created from a rough idea or sketch that an imaginative artist once thought about. If you look back in history, no one thought that one day man would reach the moon. However, now we're able to launch satellites into orbit and even exceed our expectations of what we once believes was the limit. The planetarium example you provided portrays the perfect blend of space and art. When I was young, I used to think it was incredible how the display projector was able to create such a surreal experience, as if you were actually in space. Thank you for sharing!
Best,
Ariel Jao