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Leonardo Space Art Working Group | |||||
The Leonardo Space Art Project aims to make visible the work of
artists, writers, composers and others interested in the exploration of
outer space. We also aim to help establish contact between artists,
scientists and engineers interested in working together on space art
projects.
The Leonardo Space Art Working Group is a group of individuals who are working together to investigate and promote the cultural dimensions of space activities. See http://www.olats.org/setF3.html for more information on Leonardo Space Art Projects Keep up to date with Leonardo Space and the Arts activities. Subscribe to our dedicated mailing list at:http://www.olats.org/mailman/listinfo/spaceart Activities of the Leonardo Space Art Working Group include:
Leonardo Space Art Working Group Advisory Committee members:
For bios and more information on the Leonardo Space Art Working Group Advisory Committee members: http://www.olats.org/setF3.html Selected Statements by Working Group members: Statement from Roger Malina: One of the defining achievements of the twentieth century was the birth of the space age. For the first time in history, humans escaped the gravity of the earth, walked on other celestial planets and established the first outposts in space. The space age was possible because for centuries the cultural imagination was fed by artists, writers and musicians who dreamed of human activities in space. Now, with the end of the Cold War, the role of artists and writers is again crucial in defining our future vision of space -- and will once again be instrumental in incorporating the facts and discoveries of the space age into the cultural imagination. Will the Space Age now come to an end and return to the province of mythology ? Or has the space age led to an irreversible cultural change so that space exploration will continue to be part of our civilization's activities?
Statement from Arthur Woods: Human destiny on Earth is irrevocably linked to human destiny in space. The continued exploration and exploitation of the space environment are essential to the future survival and prosperity of the human species. Using space resources to meet the growing needs of humanity on Earth is by far the most optimistic solution to many of the problems facing humanity as it enters the new millennium. The key to this solution is not in technology alone because most of the necessary technology already exists, but rather in manifesting a deep and global understanding of the human situation vis-a-vis the dimensions of the Universe. Thus the cultural reasons for exploring space may prove to be even more compelling than the political and scientific reasons that have been responsible for humanity's astronautical activities up until now. The future of space activities, the future of humanity and perhaps even the future all life on Earth is in need of skilled communicators possessing the knowledge and understanding of the scientist combined with the intuition and sensitivity of the artist.
Statement from Annick Bureaud: It is artists and their work that reveal to me the essence of space for human beings in the twentieth century, as well as my place in the cosmos. Since then, space art works and images have continued to have a powerful effect upon me: they make me dream and move me deeply. While learning and discovering the history of space art, I came to understand that artists have been the fuel of space exploration, embodying in their art the dreams of humankind, making these dreams desirable for engineers to achieve. Space art is the only field I know of that depends on strong relations, cooperation and exchange between artists and scientists. Space art is one of the very few fields that gathers disciplines so apparently different as visual arts, music, dance, literature. At the end of the twentieth century, space may not seem to be as much an issue as it used to be, but it is still an important issue for humanity. I strongly believe that only artists can provide the vision that will bring humankind to other planets.
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Updated 4 November 2004. |