Week 9: Space + Art

 Week 9: Space + Art

May 31, 2024

This week was one of my favorite in terms of the topic and material. I studied astronomy and physics in high school and have always been drawn to those topics. One thing that I noticed through this weeks material was that the awe that I amongst many others feel when looking at space and our universe is similar to the feelings invoked through powerful and visually alluring art pieces. The video “Powers of Ten” was what made me realize this, as it captured the reality of the size of our world from the protons and quarks that make up the fabric of everything to the vastness of galaxies and our universe. What’s amazing is that in end of the video, they mention quarks when the video reaches 10-14 meters, which are now measured at 10-18 meters and are composed of preons which are so small that they’re made of superstrings (Ojovan 2014). 

https://www.createdheavens.com/size-of-the-universe.html

As stated in part 1 of the lecture video, “ancient astronomers looked at these points of light and called these objects with Roman names of deities,” (2013). Since ancient times the poignance and beauty of the stars and planets was met with names of gods, showing that it has always been more than just a science as we creatively and artisticly represent what we see due to its beauty. 

https://www.arthistoryproject.com/subjects/astronomy/

Even the renowned artist Leonardo Da Vinci made contributions to astronomy when he discovered that the moon emits no light of its own, but merely bounces the light produced by the sun “like a convex mirror,” (Heavenly Mirrors: Leonardo’s Theory of Cosmology). The Leonardo Space Art Project nods to Da Vinci’s astronomy accomplishments in their mission to showcase artworks dedicated to the exploration of space. Even in Da Vinci’s own astronomy studies, he used his artistic skills to sketch his findings adn theories. Overall not only do art and space invoke similar feelings of awe and astonishment, but they have been intricately linked since ancient astronomers began observing and naming our galaxies stars.

https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2018/01/leonardo-da-vinci-on-the-moon.html

Resources

“8 Space Intro 1280x720.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 July 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dPAmpBiVHY&t=36s. 

Leonardo Space Art Project, spaceart.org/leonardo/. Accessed 31 May 2024. 

Ojovan, M.I., and W.E. Lee. “Nuclear decay.” An Introduction to Nuclear Waste Immobilisation, 2005, pp. 9–21, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-008044462-8/50004-1. 

“Powers of TenTM (1977).” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Aug. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0&t=226s. 

The British Library. “Heavenly Mirrors: Leonardo’s Theory of Cosmology - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/story/heavenly-mirrors-leonardo%E2%80%99s-theory-of-cosmology-the-british-library/PgWxrdAMVOXlJw?hl=en. Accessed 31 May 2024.