SPACE
The section on space this week was one of the more fascinating topics thus far in the class.
When I saw space was going to be the topic, when I think of art + science and space, I automatically go to "Gravity" by Alfonso Cuarón. In my opinion, Gravity is the perfect mix of art, science, and technology. From the special effects, to the vastness of space, to the message of survival and hope, the movie truly represents what I believe to be a crossroads of what we are learning in this class and real life application of that knowledge.
Space is the final frontier for the human race and is still unknown to us. This is what makes it so alluring. This is what fueled the space race. In lecture, the space race was talked about as a time of political and social change. With multiple countries, mainly the USA and the USSR rushing to get into space, the time was a technological boom, with many countries looking to improve their capabilities in order to be the first to get into space. Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn were proof of this.
I want to relate this back to another class I've taken, the history of American television, because the cinematic arts also capitalized on the prospect of space and the space race. There were numerous shows that depicted humans venturing to explore other planets, galaxies, and solar systems such as Captain Video. The times truly were buzzing from the space race and the television industry looked to capitalize on that as well.
The reading this week brought me to the attention of "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Chris Doyle, who's piece Method Air demonstrates the effect of zero gravity by projecting videos of skateboarders without their skateboards. The effect this piece has is magical and I found myself watching the clip over and over.
http://zerogravity.empac.rpi.edu/doyle/
http://www.impawards.com/2013/posters/gravity_xlg.jpg
http://wrongsideoftheart.com/2009/05/captain-video-master-of-the-stratosphere-1951-usa/
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