Week 5, Space + Art

Forty-five years and a week ago was one of the most proud and memorable moments for our country. Neil Armstrong announced the famous words, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" as he became the first human to step first on the moon.

Neil Armstrong on the Moon

Space has always been one of the most interesting topics for people through the ages, largely because the majority of its nature is unknown.  In fact, before Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543, Western culture held the geocentric viewpoint that all the planets and the sun revolved around the earth. As with most interesting and unknown areas of life, humans have incorporated art and experimented with different elements of space.

Ptolemy's Geocentric Model

Leo the Lion

 Off the bat, we notice the way societies have grouped the stars of the night sky together to form constellations, often named after common mythological figures.

Additionally, the natural state of space having an absence of gravity provides an environment to experiments with a number of things, including paintings inspired by the work of Jackson Pollock, an artist who uses gravity to create unique impressions on his artworks.


We see the heavy influence of space in our culture with its involvement in television shows and movies, such as The Jetsons, Star Wars, Gravity, and 2001: A Space Oddysey. This whole subgenre of science fiction pushes society to think of what would happen if space travel was facilitated to the point of daily use or even to the level of long-term life. As technology continues to grow at astronomical speeds, outer space's frontier is certainly one of the next main steps in pursued real estate.

In this article, we learn that even in the next year, NASA plans to work on life-supporting space systems in addition to its space station and many other advances in studies for life and exploration apart from earth. Along with the fact that SpaceShipOne broke the barrier for private space travel, I am excited to see what great discoveries will be made for space travel in my lifetime. I think it would be fantastic to be able to visit another planet, especially if James Cameron and Google co-founder Larry Page's asteroid mining venture works out as they envision here.

Works Cited

"Geocentricism." Wikimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Bartolomeu_Velho_1568.jpg>.

 Guardian Liberty Voice. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://guardianlv.com/2014/07/nasa-2015-budget-reveals-ambitious-plans-for-future-space-exploration/>.

"Leo the Lion Constellation." Red Orbit. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2004/10/10_5ab7105d15bcfbf19515ddfb1cbab1c12.jpg>.

"Neil Armstrong Stepping on the Moon." Soda Head. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://images.sodahead.com/polls/001512601/4424624505_moon1_answer_7_xlarge.jpeg>.

 Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.space.com/15395-asteroid-mining-planetary-resources.html>.

"Star Wars." Wall St. Cheat Sheet. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.wallstcheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Star-Wars.jpg?bc759b&bc759b>.

 Universe Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.universetoday.com/36487/difference-between-geocentric-and-heliocentric/>.