Week 9 - Space + Art

More than thousands of years ago, the time when technology was still premature, artists and writers already started dreaming about the universe, the mysterious space. They drew paintings and wrote novels about this unexplored and unknown black and blue sky. These artworks definitely fueled the imagination of people about the space, which in turns fueled the development of space exploration. I remembered that an astronaut as part of the Leonardo Space Art Project once said, "The space age was possible because for centuries the cultural imagination was fed by artists, writers, writers, and musicians who dreamed of human activities in space." Indeed, during the time of Space Race between the U.S. and Russia, people's curiosity and hunger for space were fed by some famous TV shows and films, like the Star Trek, which was and is a huge pop hit for scientists and engineers alike. 

Enterprise

Sci-Fi movies and comics continue to ignite millennials' curiosity of the universe. The Avatar, directed by James Cameron, has been a huge hit to the general public because it imagines a life in the space traveling age. Unlike paintings or novels, movies like Avatar show audience vivid images about what is beyond the darkness and how people can live among different planets and even systems. 

Avatar- Star colonization

Moreover, like what Carl Sagan depicts, "The Earth is a pale blue dot and our planet is a lonely speck in the lonely great enveloping cosmic dark", new space movies and artworks keep people dreaming about going further and deeper into the cosmos. It is no doubt that space art triggers the continuing development of space technology. Giant companies like Google and SpaceX also never stop imagining the possibilities of colonizing other planets.

Mars city

Finally, align with what Professor Vesna says, this week's topic gives a perfect conclusion to how art gives rise to all kinds of technologies. Technology without art is like a man without imagination. Before human ever invent anything, there must have been some kinds of art form that ignites the passion and will to discover and invent. Up till now, I fully recognize that it is art, not limiting to paintings and writings but also films, comics and any other art forms, that catalyzes this world to become a better place. In the future, I would like to appreciate more contribution that art makes to the development of any kinds of technologies.