Week 9: Space + Art

Last week we learnt about nanotechnology, which features very small object, and this week we start to look at space and art, which means very huge concepts like planet even universe. Though they are very distinct from each other, we can still find the connection between. Indeed, we should use all we learnt before to study the space and art.

When we become familiar with planet we are living now, we come up with this question naturally: what does the universe look like? In 16^th century, Copernicus first stated that sun is at the center of the universe. Though it looks wrong today because we now know sun is only at the center of the solar system, it was still a great step in his era. At that time Catholic church ruled everything and thought they were most powerful creature in the universe, and of course earth is at the center.

 

 Nicholas Copernicus

Later with the development of technology, we wanted to go beyond the earth and see what the outer space really looks like. Scientists want to build a space elevator which connects earth and space with a cable. It’s still hard to achieve today but it may come true one day in the future. We always say that war promotes technology and that is exactly true. After World War II, because of the fear of atomic bomb threaten by the other country, the United States and Soviet Union started the famous space race. In less than thirty years, they both got great achievements in the field of astronomy. In 1961, Gagarin became the first person going into the space. In 1962, John Glen became the first person to circle the earth. In 1969, Neil Armstrong made his little step as the giant step for whole human beings. And now, this technology has been moved into private area to make commercial space travels.

 

 Neil Armstrong on moon

I have seen lots of movies talking about space, such as Star Wars, the Martian and Guardians of the Galaxy. They dream about the untouchable future. Directors and actors use their imagination to show us the possibility of unknowns. They give us reasons to believe that there are more things waiting for us to discover.

the Martian

 The technology gives inspirations to artists, and artists show more possibilities to scientific research and developments. Though I know it’s a long way for us to explore the universe, I am excited to see every change in this journey. 


Sources:
Leveillee, Nicholas. P. "Copernicus, Galileo, and the Church: Science in a Religious World". StudentPulse. 2011. Web. 26 May, 2016. http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/533/copernicus-galileo-and-the-church-science-in-a-religious-world.

Gallman, Stephanie., Said-Moorhouse Lauren. "Neil Armstrong's widow finds artifacts from moonwalk in a closet". CNN. 10 Feb, 2015. Web. 26 May, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/09/us/neil-armstrong-moon-artifacts/.

Kremer, Ken. "‘The Martian’ is a Cinematic Triumph – Follow Mark Watney’s Trail across the Real Mars in Photos and Flyover Video". Universe Today. 12 Oct, 2015. Web. 27 May, 2016. http://www.universetoday.com/122798/the-martian-is-a-cinematic-triumph-follow-mark-watneys-trail-across-the-real-mars-in-photos-and-flyover-video/

London, Jay. "MIT Startup Connects Art with Space, and Space with Art". Slice of MIT. 18 Nov, 2015. Web. 27 May, 2016. https://slice.mit.edu/2015/11/18/tekuma-i-am-not-an-artist-art-basel-miami/

Marlo. “Pepõn.” Powers of Ten blog. Eames Office LLC, 26 Nov, 2012. Web. 27 May, 2016.

Documentary Tube. "HOW IT WORKS: The International Space Station". Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 3 Jul. 2015. Web. 27 May, 2016.