DESMA 9 Week 9 Blog
Abi Altick
May 31, 2019
Week 9: Space + Art
The final topic of this quarter, space and
art, was perhaps one of my favorites throughout the entirety of the course. This
is because the intersection of space and art not only showcased the alliance of
these two subjects, but also combined many previous topics that have been
discussed, such as mathematics, biotechnology, and nanotechnology (Vesna). I
was particularly excited about this week’s topic because the connection between
space and art seems to be more obvious than some of the other topics we have
explored thus far. For example, we have grown up seeing photographs and
paintings of the planets and stars; the colors and detail and are absolutely
stunning. Space is an amazing spectrum for artists to explore their creativity
as there is so much that has yet to be discovered; this gives the artists a
great deal of imagination to work with.
One of the most obvious connections between space and art is through the creation of space movies and TV shows. Growing up, most of the knowledge I learned about space came from these forms of art. As Professor Vesna points out, science fiction is absolutely essential to think about when it comes to space. It is important that scientists take note of the visions that science fiction writers create with their work (Vesna). The movie series Star Wars is a perfect example of making space extremely exciting to learn about to everyday people. Even though the first Star Wars movie was released in 1977, this massive franchise is still affecting our modern-day society, and the creators are continuing to make new movies. In fact, I recently visited Disneyland, where there is a Star Wars themed area. The unique design of the real-life lightsabers uses the combination of space, art, and technology in order to continue to educate us about space in the most entertaining way possible.
In addition to movies and TV series, artwork has been
used to spread the word about major current events in the past. For example,
during the height of the space race between the U.S. and the USSR in 1968, this
TIME Magazine cover used artwork in
order to display the tension and competitiveness of this worldwide event. This
piece of art was able to draw readers in using the dramatic design, while also educating
its readers around the world about space, and this incredibly important event
taking place. All in all, the intersection of space and art was by far
my favorite topic to learn about, and I will definitely take note of this
alliance between the two subjects the next time I watch a Star Wars movie.
References:
Vesna, Victoria. “Space intro.” YouTube,
29 July 2013, youtu.be/hLZMDpoP-u0.
Vesna, Victoria. “8 Space pt1
1280x720.” YouTube, 29 July 2013, youtu.be/4WOqt_C55Mk.
Vesna, Victoria. “8 Space pt3
1280x720.” YouTube, 29 July 2013, youtu.be/4WOqt_C55Mk.
Wickmayer, Robert. “United
NationsOffice for Outer Space Affairs.” A History of Space, 2015. http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/timeline/index.html
Zoldan, Rachel Jacoby. “14
Star Wars Facts Everyone Gets Wrong.” Reader's Digest, 2017. https://www.rd.com/culture/star-wars-facts-everyone-gets-wrong/
