Week 9 Blog

Space and Art

Space brings so many of the topics that we discussed in this class together. It involves robotics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology (Vesna). Because space is so delicate, precision is needed when dealing with these technologies, but that makes it extremely interesting.

Without the advancement of technology through time, we would know hardly anything at all about space. NASA’s website claims that, “Technology drives Exploration” which basically means that it would be impossible to come to conclusions about space without the advanced technology at our fingertips. The technology allows space travel, living in space, robotics, science instruments, and high-tech computing (Wilson). Art has influenced this technology and been a catalyst for the advancement of it over time.

NASA

The “Dancing on the ceiling: project exemplifies one way that art and space is combined.  The piece is “...diverse, the exhibition as a whole is informed by two primary conceits. The first is a broad exploration of the metaphorical theme of transcendence. The second is the actual use of zero gravity, or something that looks very much like it, to evoke the force of gravity itself, which humans may attempt to defy but can never wholly escape” (Forde). Average, everyday people think of gravity as a black and white thing; either you have it or you don’t. However, gravity is a spectrum as shown by this project. Technology gives everyday people the opportunity to learn about space, an environment most will never see.

Forde

Richard Clar is a Los Angeles new media interdisciplinary artist who created the organization “Art Technologies.” This self explanatory name shows that his work combines art and technology. The work ultimately, “... encompasses site-specific environmental issues ranging from orbital debris to water-management on Earth; war and peace; and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)” (Richard). These ideas are out of the ordinary and exemplify Clar’s creativeness while also his brilliance in science. If more people took the time to understand the correlation between art and science like Richard Clar, we would advance and learn more as a culture.

Clar

References

Forde, Kathleen . "Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity curated by Kathleen Forde : EMPAC Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center : Troy, NY USA." Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity curated by Kathleen Forde : EMPAC Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center : Troy, NY USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2017.

“NASA.” NASA, NASA, www.nasa.gov/.

“Richard Clar.” Free Enterprise, sites.artsblock.ucr.edu/free-enterprise/richard-clar-3/.

Richard, Clar. "Website of Richard Clar and Art Technologies, a collaboration between Space Technology and the Arts." Website of Richard Clar and Art Technologies, a collaboration between Space Technology and the Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2017.

Vesna, Victoria . "Space + Art ."  30 May. 2017. Lecture.

Wilson, Jim. "Technology." NASA. NASA, 13 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 May 2017.