First, we sent men into space, then we sent art.
Professor Chris Welch of the International Space University in Strasbourg, whose poetry has been sent into space, showed some of the works of art that have been sent to space at a recent Space Café meeting in Luxembourg.
For him, the growing importance of sending art reflects the fundamental shift in what is driving space exploration in recent years, from military and research-based to commercial.
“Over the last two decades though, space has started to become 'democratised'--it has been possible for individuals, albeit very wealthy ones, to travel to space or to launch their own payloads (Elon Musk's Tesla, for example). On a smaller scale, people can now send small payloads to orbit or to the International Space Station for a relatively modest cost and--crucially--just because they want to,” Welch says.
Sending art to space is one example of this, he says, though he warns the novelty will wear off.
“At the moment it seems unusual but, if access to space continues to become easier and cheaper, it will seem much less so.”
Here are some of the works Welch showed for which we were able to obtain permission to publish:
The first poem in space
In 1961, researchers sent the first poem into orbit. It was etched into an instrumentation panel on the Transit Research and Attitude Control Satellite. Written by Prof. Thomas G. Bergin of Yale University, it reads in part:
And now 'tis man who dares assault the sky...
And as we come to claim our promised place, aim only to repay the good you gave,
And warm with human love the chill of space.
The Moon Museum
In 1969, a ceramic wafer containing the artworks of six prominent artists from the late 1960s: Warhol, Rauschenberg, Novros, Myers, Oldenburg, and Chamberlain, was carried on Apollo 12 and left on the moon.
The fallen astronaut
In 1971, an aluminium sculpture of an astronaut in a space suit with a plaque listing the names of the 14 men known to have died in the name of space exploration was secretly placed on the moon by crew of the Apollo 15.
Vertical Horizons
In 1986, 6 oil paintings by Ellery Kurtz and Howard Wishnow were flown in Get Away Special (Gas) cannisters on the space shuttle Columbia. Pictured are two of the paintings.
Photo: Courtesy of Vertical Horizons, Ellery Kurtz © copyright 1986
Boundless Cubic Lunar Aperture
In 1989, this conceptual artwork by Lowry Burgess was flown on the space shuttle as a non-scientific payload.
Photo: Shared with permission of Lowry Burgess
Cosmic Dancer
In May 1993, the Cosmic Dancer sculpture by Arthur Woods was taken to the Mir space station. Pictured here is cosmonaut Alexander Polischuk with the sculpture.
Photo: Cosmonaut Gennadi Manakov/Copyright Arthur Woods
First art exhibition
In 1995, the first art exhibition in Earth orbit, Ars Ad Astra, was flown to the Mir Space Station. It was created by Arthur Woods and featured works by 20 artists.
Prisma
This Zero-g sculpture by Pierre Compte was taken to the space station in 2001.
Photo: Pierre Comte
Weltraum Visitor
In 2007, sculptures by Ragnhild Becker and Gunar Seitz and known as Weltraum Visitor, were attached to the TerraSAR-X.
Photo: Airbus Immenstaad
Celestial charging station
Who says scientists don’t have a sense of humour? In 2013, the Ukube 1 CubeSat, designed by John Gibson and Amanda White to look like a charging station for space craft, was sent into orbit.
Photo: Iam8bit & clydspace
Space 2
In 2015, this mosaic invader was taken on the International Space Station by ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.
Photo: ESA/NASA
The Contour of Presence
On 29 June 2018, an interactive artwork by Mexican artist Nahum, was sent into space. The Contour of Presence will tell a story from outer space that explores the meaning of presence and the politics of existence.
The inner workings of the piece consist of a series of mirrors arranged in a kaleidoscopic fashion, livestream cameras, lights and motors. It will be used in real-time during the performances of The Contour of Presence.
The story begins with a pre-recorded journey on Earth through poetical imagery in various natural settings, the rocket departure and finishes with the real-time connection with the artwork in outer space.
Photo: Nahum
Still to come...
In 2018, a reflective, non-functional satellite designed by artist Trevor Paglen and built with Global Western. The sculpture is intended for launch into low Earth orbit to encourage people to look up into the night sky with a renewed sense of wonder, consider their place in the universe and reimagine how we live together on the planet.
Photo: Global Western and Trevor Paglen
A collaborative sculpture comprised of four chambers containing hundreds of images, poems, music, nano-objects, mechanism and earthly samples being sent to the moon in 2020 by Carnegie Mellon University aboard an Astrobotic lander. Pictured are the ether chamber components.
Photo: Dylan Vitone
Click here to read more about artworks in space.
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