In Defense of Space Art: The Role of the Artist in Space Exploration

Abstract

Artworks will be built in space as the frequency and range of space missions increase. Artists have proposed artworks to be installed in space and have worked with space agencies to begin planning for such projects; a few space art projects have been completed. It is argued that artworks should be reviewed with the same constraints as all other space artifacts. It is unlikely that artworks will ever pose the kind of environmental threat that already exists from scientific, commercial and military activities; the cultural value of creating some space art balances the associated costs and risks. Artworks visible to global audiences can be conceived and have been proposed; it is these proposals that have concerned astronomers. Public space art should be subject to a process of public scrutiny similar to that of earth-based public art works. Most space art will involve interdisciplinary teams of artists, scientists and engineers; these projects offer the possibility of artists providing novel ideas and approaches that will be of interest in other applications. Artists in the past have played crucial roles in promoting space exploration, in literature, film and the plastic arts. They have also explored the negative aspects and risks. In the future it is inevitable and desirable that artmaking be included in planned space activities.

Anthropocentrism and the Roots of Resistance to Both Human Bioenhancement and Space Colonization

“…Space exploration is indubitably both science and technology, especially when we take it in medium-and longer-term sense; and one might argue that it has an important artistic aspect as well (e.g., Malina 1991;Sagan 1994;Ono 2010). So, people who are arguing that humans should relinquish space exploration in favour of robots seem to be arguing that humans could, at least in principle, relinquish any other hitherto human activity.…”

Creativity and Cognition in Extreme Environments: The Space Arts as a Case Study

“…The IAAA definition states: “…the genre of Space Art itself is still in its infancy, having begun only when humanity gained the ability to look off our world and artistically depicted what we see out there Szathmary (2020) .” Malina (1991) defined space art as “contemporary art which relies for its implementation on participation in space activity;” Arthur Woods (2019) chose to use the term “Astronautical Art” which we adopt here. In this definition space arts include artforms created above the Kármán line, but also artforms enabled by space vehicles, e.g., telecommunication satellites.…”

“…Space art is an extension of environmental and land art movements ( Malina, 1991 ); artists appropriate the natural world both as materials for making art and as the source of ideas and concepts. Space art seeks to explore outer space using projects that rely on space technologies, materials, or environment for their realization ( Woods, 2019 ).…”

“…To communicate and assess different artforms in the context of space, we present a taxonomy for space art that is based on taxonomies to explain different forms of space art ( Malina, 1991 ; Woods, 2019 ; Bureaud, 2020 ). Our taxonomy is highly reliant on two dimensions: where the art is created and where it is experienced ( Figure 1 ).…”

Advanced Constructivism and Postgravity Art: Theoretical and Philosophical Implications

“…Postgravity art is defined as all art that is to be created in zero gravity and that will create yet-unknown systems, which will not be directly connected to the Earth anymore [8]. Roger F. Malina's space art typology [9], suggested in the late 1980s, does not include a type corresponding to the vision of postgravity art, while a feature of the project to include new philosophical concepts related to space exploration and the potentiality of new life forms in its expression is very important for our discussion.…”