7/31/2010

Mark Bloch (101)





Mark Bloch (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133

When we think about going into outer space and leaving the earth behind, we should consider where we are trying to go and why. I used to have a friend who was studying the Torah in Jerusalem and I told him in 1982 that I was thinking of moving to New York from Los Angeles where I was living at the time. He told me that the most important consideration should be what I was trying to get to in New York, not why I was leaving L.A. He said that when a person leaves a place it should not be that they want to leave that spot but why they want to go where they are going. It is in this spirit that we should move from Earth to someplace new. I hope that as we venture out we are not going to leave behind a damaged, defeated planet Earth but that we are instead moving with our heads held high toward someplace that will be even better and for all the right reasons. We must not continue to hurt this planet as if it is expendable. The planet will survive, after all. But it is humanity, we the people, that are in danger of not surviving. We must survive. We must repair this planet, learn to treat it and ourselves with respect and then we can move on to new destinations. Artists can lead in this respect. It has started with the moon during my lifetime, perhaps we can live somewhere else in the solar system, perhaps even further out than that. When I was a boy living in Ohio I remember the first time man orbited the Earth. It was John Glenn who was also from Ohio. I remember the black and white image on TV of that and I remember the beautiful color photos that came back from the moon with Neil Armstrong, another Ohioan walking around there in 1969. So many advances have occurred as a result of those missions and all the ones in between and before and after. I hope we continue to explore space and let our imaginations be our guide to these new destinations.

Betty Esperanza (100)





Betty Esperanza (Canada)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
www.benudemedia.blogspot.com

Amy Scarola (99)





Amy Scarola (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133

Leora Lutz (98)





Leora Lutz (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134
www.leoralutz.com

"Constellations & stars over the North Pole, including the Pole Star in blue and the following stars and formations in gold grommets: Orion, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Cornal Borealis, Pegasus, Corvus, Procyon and Sirius"
grommets, paper, cotton thread on vintage atlas page of Milky Way circa 1963.
4" x 6" 2010

--statement--

The art I make questions and defines our sense of place through the use of emotive words in conjunction with notions of man-made vs. natural environments and ephemeral movement. I use Language and man-made means to portray invisible lines such as plane flight, bullet paths, wind, and in this case, space travel.

Lately, I have been "translating" words into flight paths & denoting
constellations. These are reminders of mans' interaction with nature in the
largest, vast portion of the landscape - the Sky. With the advent of technology and science, man has created the ability to move through the sky, constantly crisscrossing through a place that cannot be fully inhabited. The sky is there, for us to interact with, only to find ourselves eventually grounded again.

In this lesson of seeming futility, perhaps this inquire into the unknown becomes a comforting cycle in exploring the things around us that are essentially outside our grasp.

Elizabeth Beckmann (97)





Elizabeth Beckmann (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133

Parallax in Space 4x6

To always have questions and never enough answers, to always be at the beginning and never seeing the end, to always and never and back again the spiral turns in on itself as the scientist and the artist apply their knowledge and creative energies to their surroundings and beyond.

Rethinking space and time while maintaining the accumulative erudite works of those who came before them, the artist and scientist make it new. So new that each side’s nomenclatures change the everyday vocabulary of conventional thinking - Space/Time Continuum, Cubism, Quantum Mechanics, OP, Surrealism, Redshift, etc. Artist from Giotto to Rachel Whiteread and people of science such as Aristotle to Stephen Hawking create new space/time perceptions. Artists such as Paul Cezanne, and Jo Baer redefined the dimensions of space and time, as did Eisenstein and Gabriele Veneziano.

The mad scientist and the eccentric artist make good partners as well as real-life artist and scientist do. Andy Warhol and Billy Kluver from Bell Labs made the floating pillows. Arts and science conferences convene yearly in NY and other major cities worldwide. Vast are the similarities between artist and physicist that Leonard Shlain, parallels the advancements in arts to that in physics in his book Art and Physics. Simply put, artist and scientist deconstruct the parallax so easily because they have more fun doing it than any one else.

Layered w/silver pigment & combined w/geometric, OP Parallax in Space refracts light, hides & shows star design.


Lisa Temple-Cox (96)



Jennifer Kosharek (95)





Jennifer Kosharek (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
www.jenniferzoe.blogspot.com

Caule Voleta (94)





Caule Voleta (Macedonia)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133

"Power & Victory"

Wendy Le Ber (93)





Wendy Le Ber (United Kingdom)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134

Gretchen Biebaum (92)





Gretchen Biebaum (USA)

Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133

Collage titled: “Reaching for the Stars”

My collage/painting techniques very often have an abstract atmosphere of “floating” designs where the concept of space and time can be perceived. This phenomena may stem from my personal history with my father working at NASA. I have followed the space program since I was a child. My father worked on the moon landing as an engineer at the Lewis Space Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio. When we landed on the moon, I was so excited that I chipped a tooth eating some food as I was watching television. My father was so immersed in the project that he did not watch the actual event.

Attached to my collage titled “Reaching for the Stars” is my father’s 25-year NASA service pin. He passed away 40 years ago when I was young so I cling to every object that he touched and think about him every time I watch a shuttle launch.


Ruggero Maggi (91)





Ruggero Maggi (Italy)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133

neRRaDa (90)





neRRaDa (Australia)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134

Bill Friesen (89)





Bill Friesen (Canada)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133


7/30/2010

Janice McDonald (88)





Janice McDonald (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
http://www.janicemcdonald.com

When I was a kid we used to make space "helmets" out of paper grocery bags. We'd cut curves in the sides so they'd sit on our shoulders. Then we'd cut a big square in the front with a little hole below. We'd carefully tape clear plastic wrap over the square opening, from the inside, so that we could peer out through a shield of sorts. The round hole was for breathing and communicating with other neighborhood astronauts. Often we also designed and added insignia, antennae, or other decorations. We were perhaps easily entertained by today's standards, but the helmets provided hours of pretend play and exploration.

I still remember watching a television broadcast of men walk on the moon, while sitting with my grandmother, who had crossed into Oklahoma as a girl in a covered wagon while it was still Indian territory! We were both mesmerized. She had never gotten over being amazed by air travel so this event was beyond anything she could imagine.

I find it interesting that the US President who encouraged our space endeavors, and a whole generation, also loved the arts so much:

"I see little of more importance to the future of our country and of civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him." —John F. Kennedy

What fun that a bit of my artistic vision will blast off soon!

Kelly Gorman (87)





Kelly Gorman (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
www.kellygorman.com

"Collage, Photomontage and the Universe".


Artists and Astronomers physically explore the universe in order to redefine and engage with existence. Just as the universe is constantly expanding, so is our knowledge of life close to us and the existence of space that is far from us. Culture may be our local knowledge base, but we must ask ourselves how we define culture and ourselves in relation to the universe as a whole?
Redefining our place and role in the universe allows us to understand the source of creation, whether that is the creation of all forms of life or humans creating works of art. This acknowledgement and exploration of existence provides grounding in an understanding of our role in the universe. Collage and photomontage incorporate collections of symbols, metaphors and thoughts of life lived. This juxtaposition of remnants in the creation of art allows for new thoughts and representations to be conveyed in a contemporary way. Elements that appear to be merged together randomly form new waves of thought. They allow us to question the fundamental relationship of object and space in ways we never would have imagined. The universe teaches us that every atom in existence can form and reshape itself to become something wholly new in its ever-flowing process. Collage and photomontage can be said to represent this process of retrieving, reusing and reshaping parts that become something all together new.

Written by Kelly Gorman

Kathy Slamen (86)







Kathy Slamen (Canada)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133

HernĂ¡n Talavera (85)





HernĂ¡n Talavera (Spain)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
www.hernantalavera.blogspot.com

Chuck Feesago (84)

Chuck Feesago (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134

Ivana Rezek (83)





Ivana Rezek (Croatia)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
http://ivanarezek.carbonmade.com
http://ivanasartwork.blogspot.com

Seano Whitecloud (82)





Seano Whitecloud (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134
www.seano.me

Marci Katz (81)





Marci Katz (Canada)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
http://web.me.com/marse/Marci_Katz/Home.html

7/29/2010

Christopher W. Luhar-Trice (80)





Christopher W. Luhar-Trice (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134

I look forward to the last two shuttle missions with some degree of sadness - the shuttle program has been a constant throughout most of my life. I remember both the consuming excitement that accompanied the first few years of launches, and the terrible tragedies of the Challenger and Columbia. I’ve seen shuttle launches transition from major media events to something that scarcely rates a passing mention on the evening news. As the shuttle program ends, I wonder what will be the future of manned space exploration. My piece for this exhibition is a reflection of my long-time fascination with space travel, and with the less remembered contributors to our exploration of that great frontier. Laika the dog, a humble stray from Moscow’s streets, was the Soviet Union’s first Cosmonaut. She gave her life in service of our pursuit of the stars, likely dying within the first four orbits due to a cooling system malfunction. It warms my heart to think that I have, in a way, helped her fly again on the final mission of the space shuttle.

Karen A. Miller (79)





Karen A. Miller (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 133
www.KarenMillerArt.com

True to an Aquarian child’s spirit, the 1960s Apollo Program intrigued me – Exotic - Unique - A Journey - A Discovery - A Galactic Event - The Dawning of a New Age “…Peace for All Mankind.” Apollo 11’s Columbia/Eagle successfully launched as the first manned lunar landing! Then, on July 20, 1969, the Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility! Ah, but, this is where a twist of events occur. According to my creative version: Neil Armstrong & Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin take their historic walk on the Moon, plant the American Flag, leave a plaque, collect moon rocks, and, do what all good tourists do – take pictures. Then, they celebrate the 1st Happy Hour on the Moon with their Kittynaut mate, HappyHourKitty, while sipping on Blue Moon Martinis!

“Kittynaut’s 1st Happy Hour on the Moon” – is whimsical postcard-size art created for the FLUXFACE IN SPACE project as a unique, mixed-media collage intuitively repurposing a vintage 1969 postcard featuring an official NASA photograph from the Apollo 11 Mission. Embellishments and uniquely textured moon rocks created with kitty litter, red wine, glitters and adhesives complete the work. An interesting fact, the photograph of the collage was taken on July 20, 2010.

Historically, artwork has always been an integral part of the space program. For instance: Michael Collins sketched Apollo 11’s Mission Insignia patch. Also, examples of Apollo 11-related artwork have been featured on such items as stamps and coins. And, now, HappyHourKitty Art is part of it!

Gianfranco Maletti (78)





Gianfranco Maletti (Italy)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134
www.malettigianfranco.it
malettigianfranco@alice.it

"The Shuttle enters the legend"
"Lo Shuttle entra nella leggenda"

Elizabeth Zois (77)





Elizabeth Zois (USA)
Space Shuttle Mission: STS - 134