Week 9: Space + Art

For all human beings, the space and beyond is always fascinating yet mysterious. We have spent countless efforts attempting to explore the universe and yet we still only know very little about it. For artists, the space is also an important subject as many seek to find the true meaning of life from the universe.

While the whole history of us exploring the universe is interesting, I find the concept of the space elevator particularly fascinating. A space elevator is a proposed space transportation system and consists of a cable anchored to the surface of the earth that extends into the universe. As we are still awed by the skyscrapers in Dubai and New York, the idea of building an elevator into the universe is pure magic. Besides, the space elevator could reduce the cost of transporting humans and materials into the universe significantly. If we were able to build the elevator, we must be one step closer to conquer the universe.

The proposed space elevator

The space has always been an important subject in art works. Largely unknown to us, the space is like a blank canvas where we can put our wildest imagination on. Artists also tend to explore the meaning of life from the universe. One of my favorite sci-fi movies, 2001 A Space Odyssey, discussed the topic of what humans positions are in the universe and what super smart A.I. means for us. 

The poster of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey

With the improvement of technology, space travel and inhibiting outer space have been more possible than ever. Hopefully the day will come soon when everyone can afford to travel to the space and explore the universe.

Several private companies are exploring the possibility of commercializing space travel

Sources

Vesna, Victoria. “Space and Art: Part 2.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2012.

Ghani, Mikal. “60,000 miles up: Space elevator could be built by 2035, says new study''” PRI. N.p., Dec 2016.

Howell, Elizabeth. “Wild Inflatable Space Elevator Idea Could Lift People 12 Miles Up''” Space.com. N.p., Oct 2013.

Ebert, Roger. “"2001" -- The Monolith and the Message''” IMDB. N.p., May 1999.

Lant, Karla. “SpaceX Just Broke a Major Milestone in Commercial Space Travel'” Futurism. N.p., May 2016.

Event 3

This week, I went to the Hammer Museum for the Judith Hopf exhibition and it was quite fun and thought-provoking. Judith Hopf attempts to display the vitality of everyday objects through multiple medium including paintings, sculptures and short movies. I think many of the pieces would lead people to rethink their relationships with the seemingly plain objects that we encounter and use everyday.

In Hopf’s Waiting Laptops painting series, she gave the laptops emotions and characteristics that only humans have. Some laptops look sad and some look exhausted. Through their frequent interaction with us, our laptops have in some sense become extensions of ourselves. As I am typing this post on my laptop, weird as it may sound, I feel that the laptop have somehow absorbed my thoughts and helped preserve them. Hopf’s work really makes us reexamine our relationships that we have with our everyday objects.

A print from the Waiting Laptops series

There was also a series of sculptures made out of bricks, a kind of material rarely used in contemporary sculptures. Some of the sculptures also looked as if they were breaking through the floor, wall or ceiling. Her creative perspective really helped transformed the gallery into a fun place and attempted to upend the spatial constraints of the architecture.

A short video displaying a car which seems to have emotions

I would definitely recommend the Judith Hopf exhibition at Hammer to my fellow classmates. The exhibition is both fun and thought-provoking. While we take the objects that we use everyday for granted, we really should take a moment to think about how we interact with these objects and how they have become part of us.

Me at the exhibition