If you spend a night sleeping under the stars, it is not
hard to see the connection between Space and Art. Space is an immensely
technical thing, or at least our understanding of it is. We measure it in
lightyears, in galaxies, in many many miles. But it is also a beautiful
representation of the universe. Nature beyond our planet’s borders that is not
easily photographed. Space has long been the subject of an array artists: painters,
sculptors, science fiction writers.
One such artist, Robert T. McCall, is perhaps the most well-known
“space painter.” McCall painted scenes of the galaxy all of his life, including
the poster for Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001:
A Space Odyssey. For more than 35 years, McCall documented NASA’s space
program with his paintings. He painted ships and rovers and vehicles of all
kinds, but also painted fictions and “conceptual art” for the entertainment
industry (McCallStudios). He is a great balance between Snow’s two cultures-
equal parts talented in art but fascinated in science.
Another artist, in my opinion, is the Hubble telescope. This
innovation has revealed artist photographs that are impossible to capture
without the 26-year-old telescope, the first of its kind. Hubble sells its
photographs so space fans everywhere can have a little piece of the galaxy. This
telescope is another great combination of art and science, without the science
no one would know that natural art the universe provides.
Works Cited:
The Artist | McCall Studios. Web. 25 May 2016.
Dunbar, Brian. NASA. NASA, 01 Mar. 2010. Web. 25 May 2016.
"25 Years of the Hubble Telescope in 25 Stunning Photos." PBS. PBS, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 May 2016.
Skyimage Lab. Web. 25 May 2016.
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.
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Nice post! I like how you gave the Hubble telescope as an "artist" that portrays space. It's pretty interesting thinking about it in that way. The photographs and images that it captures are pretty amazing!
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