Week 9: Space + Art

The topic this week really brought all the other concepts that we have studied over the course of this term together.  Everything that we have studied so far has lead to the explorations of space and the art the helped cause it and that eventually was caused by this.  It really surprised me just how connected the arms race was to the space race; however, ultimately, the most surprising part was just how great of an effect the space race had on the art world such as the film/tv world as well as technological advancements.
Scientists are still unsure just how large the universe
really is
In the greater perspective of things, our planet Earth is just a small "pale blue dot", as Carl Sagan described it, and is part of a much larger universe.  One that is almost impossible to represent by numbers.  Within the short video "The Power of Ten (1977)", we get a glimpse of just how massive, and small, the universe really is.  As we look further and further away from our planet, we begin to see the stars change, planets become specks in the distance.  It's shocking to see just how small I am in the scope of the universe.  This idea of how small humanity further inspired the idea of other species living on far away planets.  How could we be the only living beings in the universe if it is so vast.  Ideas like this really took the film and tv industry by storm.  This era of the space race also lead to a plethora of space films being created such as Star Trek, Alf, and many more. It was an era of exploring the unknown and most viewers were really interested in what space had to offer.
Alf was an American Sitcom about
an alien who crash lands on Earth
Not only did the space race inspire film artists to explore a new genre, but it also provided many idea to inventors who were looking to create new innovations that could change the world.  Exploration of space has lead to companies trying to create commercial space travel like that of Virgin, while other inventors like Elon Musk are trying to create inventions that seem straight out of science fiction novels like his idea to create an underground tunnel system in Los Angeles to solve traffic issues (LA Times, 2018).  Not only that, even simple things we take for granted today were inspired by space travel.  Take for example the water purifier, NASA decide to collaborate with a group of engineers to create a product that could turn the respiration, sweat, and urine of astronauts into drinkable water.  This technology is now being used all over the world (Telegraph.co, 2018). Even though these ideas may seem far out of reach, it is hard to say that they are impossible with all the new innovations coming from the initial idea of space travel.
Elon Musk's underground tunnel system would help to
solve some os LA's massive traffic issues
Even now, we continue to try and understand space further.  What we don't understand will continue to inspire and I am excited to see what further relationship between space and art will foster.  Maybe one day I'll be living in space just like that in the old cartoon show "The Jetsons."

Works Cited
“10 Tech Developments to Thank the Space Race For.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 9 Feb. 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/films/hidden-figures/technology-from-the-space-race/. 
“A Pale Blue Dot.” A Pale Blue Dot. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May. 2018 <http://www.bigskyastroclub.org/pale_blue_dot.html>.
England, Jennifer. "Disciplining subjectivity and space: Representation, film and its material effects." Antipode 36.2 (2004): 295-321.
Launius, Roger D., and Howard E. McCurdy. Robots in space: technology, evolution, and interplanetary travel. JHU Press, 2008.
Rayman, Marc D., et al. "Results from the deep space 1 technology validation mission." Acta Astronautica 47.2-9 (2000): 475-487.
Tchekmedyian, Alene. “Elon Musk Unveils Video of His First Underground L.A. Tunnel, Predicts Rides within Months.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2018, www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-elon-musk-tunnel-20180510-story.html. 

Comments

  1. Jennifer LathropJune 6, 2018 at 11:33 AM

    Hi Cameron,
    I have always wondered whether we will know if we are alone in the universe before our life is over. Either option seems equally terrifying. It is interesting that there is so much around us that we do not know about. No wonder artists and scientists alike have such an immense curiosity about this subject. Great job!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Event 3: Just Genomes? For this event, I was able to attend a presentation by guest speaker Jenny Reardon from the University of Santa Cruz.  Reardon had spent time researching the Human Genome and presented herself with many questions that she wanted to answer.  One of her biggest questions being how genetics has changed the entire idea of race.  Today, she continues to try and find answers to her questions despite the lack of funding received for the genome project and beliefs that things should just be left as they are now. Information about guest speaker, Jenny Reardon Throughout most of Reardon's speech, she discussed that there was a major conflict with most of the scientists she spent time with while working within the project.  She talked about how many people wanted to completely solve the genome and its code while other wanted to comprehend why the genome functioned certain ways rather than understand the coding behind its movements.  This constant issue lea
Read more
Image
Week 6: Biotech and Art As you know, humans continue to evolve and become more advanced everyday.  With new technology of the 21st century, we have really been able to interpret gene sequences and genomes, as well as the coding of DNA/RNA.  Both artists and scientists have imagined endless possibilities in ways that humanity can use these new discoveries.  While their are many positives to the way in which we can use and possibly transfer genome coding, calling it "art" doesn't take away from the somewhat horrifying truth about modifying a species DNA. For example, as Professor Vesna explained in our lecture video, Eduardo Kac created a fluorescent rabbit through inserting a jellyfish gene.  What initially began as only a art project turned into something horrifying to me.  The rabbit, when exposed to blue light, would turn green like a glow in the dark toy.  Some people may see this as a huge step in scientific advancement; however, I felt that it was very unnatura
Read more
Image
Week 8: NanoTech + Art From this week's lectures, we were able to see the significant impact that nanotechnology can have on humanity for both the better or worse.  This new form of technology will cause a massive change in the entire way in which people perceive the world in the most literal sense.  Specifically because this technology can't be seen with the naked eye.  Nanotech will change the entire world of science, medicine, and technology. With the already ever advancing medical technology field, this new type of tech only helps to further increase advancements in medicines.  Some researchers at Georgia State University have begun using nanoparticles in a vaccine for Influenza.  Once the vaccine is injected into a host, the nanoparticles are designed to attack a portion of the virus that is present in all cases of Influenza.  The overarching goal of the program is to test the new technology to see if it can work on a broad spectrum of diseases (Nanotechnology in Medic
Read more