Space + Art is an easy one to see where the overlap between the Two Cultures occurs, as space exploration has been a very visible theme in our pop culture, with shows like Star Trek, Serenity, Battlestar Gallactica, among many many others.
I enjoyed leafing through the various, less publicly acknowledged artistic ways people are exploring the idea of space and our use of it/interaction with it. ‘Cosmic Dancer’ was
beautiful and soothing and deceptively simple - a weightless sculpture, an art piece that only achieves its intention in anti-gravity. 'Mars Patent' is a fascinating concept -- what type of work would people send to exhibit on Mars if we could? If we’re going to be colonizing/mining Mars, shouldn’t equal weight be given to bringing things of beauty to the universe as well? I really enjoyed leafing through the various offerings, and I laughed out loud at this answer in the FAQs: “As a future orientated device the HRM_1.0n only reads female names as valid identities.”
In another moment of delight, I realized that I had actually held a Buckyball in my hand this past May, while I was working in Sudbury, Ontario and visiting Science North on the weekend with my sons. It is such a tiny town, so to hear its name mentioned in the lecture this week was startling and wonderful. I enjoyed learning more about Sputnik and the Cold War and the videos from that era were such a welcome change of pace. After learning about the early generations of astronauts, I remembered that I had seen the Challenger explode on television with my parents when I was a child. So then, of course, I started YouTubing footage of the Challenger exploding and got sucked down an internet rabbit hole of disasters from my lifetime (the 2006 Tsunami particularly). Unsurprisingly, it turned out a depressing way to spend a Tuesday night - I don’t recommend it!
I had no idea that Elon Musk’s SpaceX was receiving funds from NASA to privatize space exploration -- I’m not really sure how to feel about this and am prompted to do more research. Musk is a universally fascinating figure who comes up often in conversation and I loved his appearance on Colbert talking about his development of reusable rockets (amazing video is in the clip below). A man who captures the imagination of scientists and artists alike, he’s purportedly the man behind the concept for the character of Iron Man’s Tony Stark.
'Powers of 10' was a video I had viewed a few years back when the Eames exhibit was at LACMA. I find the Eames to be a fascinating couple and the video to be mind-boggling and disorienting. This time around it reminded me of this ‘Fold Paper to Get to the Moon’ TED-Ed video that had been making the rounds this week:
Behind the scenes, the TV world seems to be experiencing an exceptional wave of interest in space stories that will be coming to your screens this fall. For example, I recently auditioned for a show that will be making it’s way onto SyFy in November, called Ascension. It’s about three generations of humans making the commitment to colonize a far off galaxy. Here’s the breakdown: “49 years ago, NASA sent a 1500-foot spacecraft on a 100-year mission to penetrate deep space and reach the faraway star Proxima Centauri. The spaceship Ascension is powered by controlled explosions of nuclear bombs, and the 350 people aboard consider themselves to be lifeboat for the human race -- but they're only halfway to their destination and some crewpersons ("Earthers") want to turn back and go home. The murder of local beauty Lorelei Wright ratchets up the internal tensions to a high pitch, and First Officer Oren Gault is under orders to investigate and find the killer. But it's possible that his borderline-amateur investigation will reveal the deepest secret of the Ascension – and the true purpose of the project...”
Also coming to TV soon are two 60’s era Space-Race shows: ABC drama The Astronauts' Wives Club (sort of like Desperate Housewives meets Mad Men) and NBC comedy Mission Control starring Krysten Ritter (the story of a lone woman working in a man's world of early space exploration).
Business Insider: Colbert/Elon Musk
CNN footage of Challenger explosion
Lecture Part 2, Vesna
Lecture Part 4, Vesna
Mars Patent
Powers of 10
Ascension Trailer: SyFy
Cosmic Dancer
Adrian Paenza TED-Ed video
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