Week 9 I Space and Art

            As stated in this week’s lecture, space is a concept that has captivated humanity from the beginning (Vesna). People have always looked up to the stars and wondered what is out there.  The awe has inspired the imagination for generations and has lead to the creation of numerous pieces of art in all sorts of mediums. From Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night, to sci-fi literature, connections to space are everywhere (Trachtman).

 Van Gogh's iconic "Starry Night"

            To me, perhaps one of the most interesting points made in this week’s lecture was how novelists and other creative thinkers were able to call so many significant space milestones before they occurred.  For example in the 1865 novel From The Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne predicted and constructed a model of the lunar landings a century before they happened (Jensen). This tradition continues today as scientists searching for life in space come closer and closer to doing so after wondering for generations if we are alone in the universe (Presto).

Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon

            Today, some scientists like to call science fiction rational fictional speculation instead of just dismissing the ideas as something that cannot be done (Spaleta).  Because of how heavily intertwined space-themed literature is with science, the sci-fi genre of art seems to have a predictive power for future scientific and technological advancement.  So many inventions that were once a creative thought have been brought to life and as long as these developments continue, humanity might one day find itself flying amongst the stars like in the great sci-fi classics.

A recent sci-fi film about space travel, Interstellar

Works Cited

Jensen, Thor. "The Moon Landing: Futurists Were Right: 10 Predictions Made By Sci-Fi Writers That Came True - Tested.com." Tested RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.tested.com/tech/concepts/460223-futurists-were-right-10-predictions-made-sci-fi-writers-came-true/item/moon-landing/>.

Presto, Suzanna. "Scientists: We're 'very Close' to Finding Another Earth - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/14/tech/nasa-search-for-life/>.

Spaleta, Steve. "Space Tech Realizes Sci-Fi Dreams | Space.com." Space. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.space.com/11542-space-tech-realizes-sci-fi-dreams.html>.

Trachtman, Paul. "Van Gogh's Night Visions." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/van-goghs-night-visions-131900002/?no-ist>.

Vesna, Victoria. "8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZIqTR332l8>.