Deciphering Space: Uncovering Art in our Galaxy and Beyond by Anubhav Chandla

For my first event of the quarter, I visited the online “Cosmological Elements #2” exhibit panel via the Zoom presentation led by Professor Vesna and fellow artists. This event was quite expansive in nature as it covered a wide range of artistic styles and ideas surrounding “cosmic art”. Personally, I found this event, and some of the art showcased by the speakers to be very eye-opening as it revealed that art is not only what we perceive and create, but rather, is engrained within our world on a micro and macro level. Furthermore, the art that we “perceive” on a cosmic level, whether it be through the collected lunar rocks, or our efforts to reach the extraterrestrial, are all universal artistic forms of expression. (Proof of Attendance at Bottom)

The Scarcity of Art

Art sourced from the Exhibit Presentation

Michele Boulogne presented one piece of art that specifically stood out to me, discussing the Scarcity of Art. This was very interesting as it reminded me of the previous week’s discussion on “Mechanized Art” and how manufactured reproduction of art does increase quantity, but may inversely reduce the quality of the piece (Benjamin 2). As seen above, these cosmic art pieces are a “one-of-one” that cannot be reproduced in any setting other than space itself. 

Mathematics and Art

Art sourced from the Exhibit Presentation

Another art piece that I found to be very impactful in this event was the Communicating to Aliens Tapestry which decoded the distorted “Golden Record” placed upon the Voyager Satellite (Ferris 2), This art piece reminded me of our discussion of mathematics and art, since the artist who transcribed this piece used the sound waves from the “Golden Record” alongside distortion, to physically connect with the data that would represent humanity on Earth to another extraterrestrial being. As Henderson discusses, art and mathematics are interwoven through the “human consciousness” (Henderson 207). I personally connected to this as it reminded me that art, science, and mathematical expression are all interrelated as a representation of our current humanity.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I would definitely recommend this exhibit since it not only discusses art in a cosmological perspective but it also reveals the wide variety of art that is connected to the universe around us. Furthermore, this exhibit also reveals our collective discussion about the intermingling of “two cultures”, a mix of both qualitative and quantitative thought (Vesna 122). 

Proof of Attendance

References

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Repr, Penguin Books, 2008.

Ferris, Timothy. “How The Voyager Golden Record Was Made.” The New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/voyager-golden-record-40th-anniversary-timothy-ferris.

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo, vol. 17, no. 3, 1984, pp. 205–10. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1575193. Accessed 29 Apr. 2023.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1577014. Accessed 29 Apr. 2023.