Space + Art

When I saw that the topic of this week's lectures was space and art, my first thought was that artists got their inspiration from space. Meaning, the artists stayed on earth and created artwork from looking at the stars and the planets. I was intrigued to learn that the some of the astronauts being launched into space would bring the artwork with them on their space expeditions. I now know that these are just two versions of astronautical art and there are several more broad categories. 

Cosmic Dancer

Arthur R. Woods in an astroartist. He introduced many art-in-space projects including two that were realized in outer space. One of them was called the Cosmic Dancer, a geometric art piece created by welding aluminum tubes together. It had dimensions of 35 x 35 x 40 centimeters and weighed exactly one kilogram. It was the first three dimensional artwork specifically designed and realized for space habitat. The objective of the artwork was to explore how sculpture behaves in a weightless environment and assess the integration of art within the human space program. 

Cosmonaut Gennadi Manakov and the Cosmic Dancer on the Mir space station, 1993

When it reached the Mir space station, the Cosmic Dancer was permitted the rotate slowly and drift freely in the absence of gravitational force. Unlike sculptures on Earth, which are influenced by gravity and have to be positioned accordingly, this artwork could be observed from any perspective or angle. The cosmonaut crew interacted with the sculpture and evaluated its significance and impact on their surroundings. 

Cosmic Dancer stowed in the Mir space station

Works Cited

“8 Space PT3 1280X720.” YouTube, 29 July 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WOqt_C55Mk.

“Cosmic Dancer - A Space Art Intervention by Arthur Woods.” Introduction: News : Arthur Woods : Cosmic Dancer, www.cosmicdancer.com/introduction.php. Accessed 29 May 2023.

Greenberg, Gary. Cosmic Dancer, www.outer-space-art-gallery.com/cosmic-dancer.html. Accessed 29 May 2023.

“Space PT4.” YouTube, 30 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ClKO6AJPo.

Woods, Arthur. “The Spaceflight of the Cosmic Dancer Sculpture to the Mir Space Station.” The Space Option, 26 Oct. 2019, thespaceoption.com/the-spaceflight-of-the-cosmic-dancer-sculpture-to-the-mir-space-station/.