Event 1: COSMOLOGICAL ELEMENTS #1

I attended the Cosmological Elements showcase event on Friday, April 21st via Zoom. The Cosmological Elements project explores the power of art to inspire and connect people to the beauty and wonder of the universe. By creating art that captures the essence of the cosmos, the artists were able to create a sense of awe for the natural world and the mysteries of the universe (Statement - Cosmological Elements).

The first exhibition that caught my eye was one by Professor Victoria Vesna titled "Alien Stardust". Visitors can interact with the exhibition through touch and movement, which activates the "cosmic tree" displayed in the exhibition and evokes the cosmic origins of life. The installation includes 7 different meteorites, one for each continent. "Alien Stardust" is the epitome of using art to evoke curiosity and wonder about a scientific field -- it uses a combination of art, technology, and outer space knowledge to inspire visitors to contemplate the interconnectedness of life, and to think about how everything on our planet came from the cosmos (or "stardust").

screenshot from "Alien Stardust" part of the Cosmological Events showcase

 Another one of my favorite pieces from this exhibition was one by Daniela Estrada, titled "Our Celestial Bodies." This piece features 200 bottles, each containing an element in a specific form, labeled with where it was created in the cosmos (directly at the big bang, from collisions or explosions of stars, etc) and where it can be found on earth. A group of these elements can be found in human bodies, as indicated on their bottles. I found this project to be especially thought-provoking as it explored the relationship of the human body and its natural elements to outer space -- and how essentially, we are all made of stardust, and so is the world around us.

screenshot from "Our Celestial Bodies" part of the Cosmological Events showcase

The Cosmological Elements panel caused me to realize that the feeling one might get while studying about outer space and elements of the cosmos, which is very much a scientific topic, is similar to what one may feel when looking at a piece of art that resonates deeply with them -- awe, wonder, and curiosity -- and many artists have taken that into consideration in their pieces.  This has been evident for a long time, dating back to ancient cave paintings and continuing through the Renaissance and into the modern era (“What Is Space Art?”). 

In addition to causing us to think about the wonders of and our origins in the cosmos, I realized that art can also be used for more educational and informative purposes -- especially during the advancement of space exploration. NASA has collaborated with several artists to create works that communicate the significance of modern space exploration, hoping to inspire, engage, and communicate the significance of space exploration to a broader audience that may not be directly involved in the scientific aspects of it (Meier).

I would definitely recommend this event to others -- people who've never really thought about outer space and its relation to the human experience and people who would classify themselves as "space nerds" alike!


Works Cited

Statement - Cosmological Elements, https://cosmoselements.art/statement. 

“Exhibition - [ALIEN] STAR DUST.” ALIEN STAR DUST, https://alienstardust.com/installation/.

“What Is Space Art?” International Association of Astronomical Artists, International Association of Astronomical Artists, https://iaaa.org/what-is-space-art/.

Meier, Allison C. Art in Space - JSTOR DAILY. 28 Sept. 2018, https://daily.jstor.org/art-in-space/.



A screenshot of my email confirmation, as asked for in the assignment description, is below:



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 9: Space + Art

Image
Although outer space and art are widely different aspects of the human experience, they both have the same goal – to better understand the human experience. Artists challenge the boundaries of what is possible, especially through works and pieces of science fiction. Artists "…have continued to be instrumental catalysts in our quest to conquer the unknown, because they imagine the future before it happens – as the saying goes, life imitates art," (Maldonado).  Space art by Charles Bittinger shows the solar system as imagined in 1939 Ideas such as a "space elevator", a structure made of carbon nanotubes that stretch from earth to space as introduced in the 1976 science fiction novel The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke, envision concepts that have yet to be imagined or implemented (Vesna). An even earlier such example appears in the 1865 science fiction novel From Earth to the Moon , which proposes a projectile launch to the moon using a giant cannon, explor...
Read more

Week 1: Two Cultures

Image
  The idea of “Two Cultures” has been instilled in me – perhaps somewhat subconsciously – from a young age, and has perpetuated even to my college years at UCLA. Fitting into the categories of a “STEM major” (whose classes are usually confined to South Campus) or “humanities major” (whose classes are typically in North Campus) is how most students make snap judgments about others upon first meeting them. To students, there appears to be quite a divide – “majors like economics and psychology, straddling the line between STEM and humanities, have found themselves in the midst of a cross-campus crossfire,” (Jung). In C.P. Snow’s 1959 Rede Lecture, “Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution”, he reinforces this idea that there is a fruitless rivalry between ‘physical scientists’ and ‘literary intellectuals’ at the heart of the separation of the Two Cultures. However, he also adds that educational institutions themselves, and not simply the judgements of others, are fueling this divide...
Read more

Event 3: Color Light Motion with Marisa Caichiolo

Image
 On May 12th, I attended the Color, Light, and Motion online event with speaker Marisa Caichiolo. Prior to attending this event, I had no knowledge of the fact that kinetic art was even its own subcategory of art, let alone exactly what it was or its implications for the art and science communities. I was able to gain a lot more insight into this art and its effects by viewing and hearing about works by artists such as Marisa Caichiolo herself, Julio LeParte, and Martha Boto.  Kinetic art incorporates motion into its design and composition -- artists use mechanical elements, as well as natural forces, to create movement. The movement can be subtle or energetic, and it adds a dynamic and ever-changing dimension to the artworks (“Kinetic Art Movement Overview”).  The example I found most intriguing from this event was a piece by Marisa Caichiolo titled "How Else Can I Serve You?" This piece discusses gender inequality through performance art; the artist "unfolds a...
Read more