One of my very first family memories dates back to a camping
trip in which my parents, sister, and I all looked up at the night stars,
naming constellations and just gazing at its vastness. We always had glow in the dark stars on our
bedroom ceilings and constantly berated my parents with questions about what
else is “out there” in space. Space has
always represented both a fascination with the unknown and a sea of
possibilities. This, in turn, closely
relates space to art because artists continually focus on spaces, like space,
that are yet to be explored.
The Soviet Union launch of Sputnik in 1956 kicked off the
Space Age and took the world down a intertwined path of exploration and
discovery that interests people of all ages to this day. Yet, public portrayal of this exploration of
possibilities, such as TV shows like The Jetsons and Star Trek, were all
conceived just before or after this launch.
These influential pieces of media not only impacted world culture, but
also planted the question of “What is out in space?” in the minds of people of
all ages. These shows placed pressure on
scientists to make these fiction stories an actual nonfiction success. People dreamed, hoped, and pleaded for
civilizations in space, the discovery of other creatures, and other human
activities in this vast unknown.
Recently, the movie Gravity focused on astronauts floating
in the blackness of space, highlighting the fact that mankind still has no
control or true knowledge of how to survive outside our planet. Although Sandra Bullock eventually made it
home safely, the movie just shows how powerful space can be. It is my prediction, however, that based on
past trends of scientific and artistic discovery that space will become more
naturalized and a part of human life in the near future.
Barber, Steve. "History Home." NASA. Web. N.p.,n.d. 29 May 2016. <http://history.nasa.gov>
"Gravity."Imdb. N.p., n.d. Web 29 May 2016. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/plotsummary.>
Launius, Roger D. “Sputnik and
the Origins of the space Age.” History of NASA. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2016.
<http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/sputorig.html>.
"Leonardo Space Art
Project Visioneers." Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://spaceart.org/leonardo/vision.html>.
Vensa, Victoria. Space
Exploration + Art Lectures I-VI. UCOnline. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May
2016.
Sputnick. Digital image.
< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1>
Camping. Digital Image.
< http://parade.com/328902/viannguyen/the-best-places-to-go-stargazing-in-america/>
Gravity. Digitial Image.
Film. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_(film)>
I completely agree with you that space will become a more naturalized part of human life in the near future. In my blog I wrote that NASA plans on putting humans on Mars by 2035, and other private companies such as SpaceX well before then. I personally believe that human colonization and terraforming of planets will become a reality in our lifetimes. Also, I highly recommend NASA's New Horizons website for a stunning blend between art and science--you can see an example of one of their images of Pluto on my blog.
ReplyDeleteThe way you personalized the topic for this week to your childhood memories is another example of how space exploration has been greatly publicized ever since scientists have figured out the wonders of space. It definitely shows how we continue to wonder and be amazed by the darkness that surrounds our home called Earth. I like that you described a modern film to tie how space is portrayed in popular culture, showing how films and other types of art have given us some type of knowledge about the scientific discovery of space. No matter how far we have come though, one thing we are sure of is how there is still a vast of information to learn.
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