Space + Art

Space + Art

Although only recently has commercial space travel become more accessible, space art has a remarkably long history. Amid astronauts and billionaires, like Jeff Bezos, exploring the wonders of the void above, artists have ventured into exploring what art looks like in the context of the universe. 

Jeff Bezos Space Travel

When space and art are explored together, the unique components each entity contributes allows for innovative discoveries that could never otherwise be created by either entity on its own. A number of artists have launched their art into space to be appreciated against the infinitely black and vast canvas above. In 1969, artists Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, John Chamberlain, and Claes Oldenburg, all contributed small drawings to a small ceramic art piece titled the Moon Museum (Nunes). 

Moon Museum

The piece was smuggled onto the Apollo 12 spacecraft and left on the moon by astronauts. More recently, in 2014 Japanese artist Makoto Azuma launched a beautiful floral art arrangement into outer space. 

Exobiotanica

Named Exobiotanica, the work of art featured a 50-year-old white pine bonsai tree and a colorful bouquet of flowers (Maldonado). Azuma’s piece was propelled ​​nearly 100,000 feet into the stratosphere and managed to float up above for just over two hours before gravity pulled it back down to Earth. Alongside the botanical arrangement were six mounted cameras that captured extraordinary images of the project’s journey through space.


Works Cited

Boyce, K.. (1991). "Art in Outerspace": Gauging Public Response to High-Technology Art. 

Leonardo. 24. 553. 10.2307/1575659. 

Maldonado, Devon Van Houten. “The Artworks Floating above the Earth.” BBC Culture, BBC, 

14 Dec. 2018, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181214-the-artworks-floating

-above-the-earth. 

Nunes, Andrew. “Far out! These 5 Cosmic Art Projects Prove That Outer Space Is the next 

Avant-Garde Frontier.” Artnet News, Artnet, 12 Feb. 2019, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-outer-space-1462288. 

Triscott, N.. “Transmissions from the Noosphere: Contemporary art and outer space.” (2016).

Zuckerman, Catherine. “Before We Explored Outer Space, We Tried to Paint It.” Science, 

National Geographic, 3 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/

before-we-explored-space-we-tried-to-paint-it-charles-bittinger. 


Images

Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, David Novros, Forrest Myers, Robert Rauschenberg, John 

Chamberlain, Moon Museum 1969, MoMA, San Francisco. 

Azuma Makoto, EXOBIOTANICA 2014, Photo: Azuma Makoto.

Genovese, Daniella. “Jeff Bezos Will Travel to Space on Blue Origin Rocket.” Fox Business, 

Fox Business, 7 June 2021, https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/jeff-bezos-trip-space-

blue-origin.


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