drewpDESMA9
Week 9: Space + Art
This week's topic was surely the most interesting since it summed up all of our previous topics into one. When thinking about space, there is no particular right or wrong to what it is simply because we have not discovered it completely. In fact, it has been stated that astronomers have only discovered about 4% of space. So even though our depiction of space is this large entity that extends for hundreds of thousands of miles, we really have no clue what space actually consists of.
Nicolaus Copernicus' model of the universe was something I found interesting which related space to the previous weeks' topics. Nanotech, neuroscience, biotech, medicine, and even robotics all catered toward the human body and its structure. In each of these respective topics the main motif I took away from them was that scientists were trying to find ways to further their knowledge about the human body. The development of technology helped them advance their research, but this all stemmed from somewhere. Copernicus' idea that the sun was in the middle of the universe rather than earth created a model of the solar system we are familiar with today. This model relates very closely to the structure of an atom—the nucleus (protons, neutrons) in the center which resemble the sun, with electrons around it which resemble the orbiting planets. Especially in last week's topic of nanotech, scientists are trying to inspect the body beyond the subatomic level. This deals with dissecting each individual atom and understanding each part entirely. In regards to space, to understand the function of it, one must be able to look at the pieces it is comprised of. Our solar system represents just a small fraction of space, and earth an even smaller piece. Within our galaxy alone we have discovered a lot about what space is and how it functions. This same concept is and can be used in the study of the human body's atomic and molecular structure.
In art, space is a popular subject to use because of its astounding beauty. From earth's perspective, space is comprised of a plethora of colors which can be easily incorporated in art. Another intriguing component of space are the stars that have been used over the past hundreds of years to create art through what we now know as constellations. Today, the art of space is popularly used in many science–fiction movies. Some popular examples of this are in movies like Alien or Transformers, in which directors and producers create these super–human like beings that originate from extraterrestrial planets. These type of movies also cover the topics we have recently discussed since they not only deal with space, but they also deal with non–human or robotic beings. Movies like The Avengers and X–Men are sci–fi's that use the likeness of humans. Most superheroes in fact either look like or are actually human in structure but just posses some type of power or ability that makes them unlike a normal person. All in all, space has only added to what art has become. It allows for artists to create something brand new because space itself deals with subjects beyond earth, and essentially beyond our imagination. It is amazing to think that of all the research astronomers have put into understanding space that we only have actually discovered 4% of what could be out there. This just means that gaining more and more knowledge about space will come with time.
This week's topic was surely the most interesting since it summed up all of our previous topics into one. When thinking about space, there is no particular right or wrong to what it is simply because we have not discovered it completely. In fact, it has been stated that astronomers have only discovered about 4% of space. So even though our depiction of space is this large entity that extends for hundreds of thousands of miles, we really have no clue what space actually consists of.
Earth from space
Nicolaus Copernicus' model of the universe was something I found interesting which related space to the previous weeks' topics. Nanotech, neuroscience, biotech, medicine, and even robotics all catered toward the human body and its structure. In each of these respective topics the main motif I took away from them was that scientists were trying to find ways to further their knowledge about the human body. The development of technology helped them advance their research, but this all stemmed from somewhere. Copernicus' idea that the sun was in the middle of the universe rather than earth created a model of the solar system we are familiar with today. This model relates very closely to the structure of an atom—the nucleus (protons, neutrons) in the center which resemble the sun, with electrons around it which resemble the orbiting planets. Especially in last week's topic of nanotech, scientists are trying to inspect the body beyond the subatomic level. This deals with dissecting each individual atom and understanding each part entirely. In regards to space, to understand the function of it, one must be able to look at the pieces it is comprised of. Our solar system represents just a small fraction of space, and earth an even smaller piece. Within our galaxy alone we have discovered a lot about what space is and how it functions. This same concept is and can be used in the study of the human body's atomic and molecular structure.
Planet's paths around the Sun
In art, space is a popular subject to use because of its astounding beauty. From earth's perspective, space is comprised of a plethora of colors which can be easily incorporated in art. Another intriguing component of space are the stars that have been used over the past hundreds of years to create art through what we now know as constellations. Today, the art of space is popularly used in many science–fiction movies. Some popular examples of this are in movies like Alien or Transformers, in which directors and producers create these super–human like beings that originate from extraterrestrial planets. These type of movies also cover the topics we have recently discussed since they not only deal with space, but they also deal with non–human or robotic beings. Movies like The Avengers and X–Men are sci–fi's that use the likeness of humans. Most superheroes in fact either look like or are actually human in structure but just posses some type of power or ability that makes them unlike a normal person. All in all, space has only added to what art has become. It allows for artists to create something brand new because space itself deals with subjects beyond earth, and essentially beyond our imagination. It is amazing to think that of all the research astronomers have put into understanding space that we only have actually discovered 4% of what could be out there. This just means that gaining more and more knowledge about space will come with time.
What could possibly be out there?
Works Cited
"The Copernican Model: A Sun–Centered Solar System." N.p., N.d. Web.
http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~blackman/ast104/copernican9.html
Eames Office. "Powers of Ten™(1977)." YouTube. Web. 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0
Holmes, Brian. "Coded Utopia." WordPress, 2007. Web.
https://brianholmes.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/coded-utopia/
Levrier, Guy. "The Leonardo Space Art Project Working Group." Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996. Web.
http://spaceart.org/leonardo/vision.html
"A Pale Blue Doe." The Big Sky Astronomy Club, 2003–2014. Web.
http://www.bigskyastroclub.org/pale_blue_dot.html
Hello Drew,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post about space. Despite having written my own, I had different perspective but your supporting examples make it very clear to see this approach. I thought it was interesting when you made the correlation to space and art with the consolations and how it is part of science fiction. I cant remember the last time I watched a tv show that wasn't related to space. I never knew how little of space we actually know about only 4% it goes to show how big space actually is and how little earth really is. Just like the powers of 10, it puts it into perspective our actual size in this universe.