cosmic dancer - a space art intervention by arthur woods
Cosmic Dancer Project Information
An Artwork Designed for Space
On May 22, 1993, an artwork that was conceived, realized and launched as a declared, authorized and scientifically-reasoned "space art project," lifted off for its flight to the Russian Mir space station on a Soyuz launcher. A few days later this artwork called the Cosmic Dancer created by the Swiss-American artist Arthur Woods, became a part of the living space of the cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station in Earth orbit.
In September 1992, a proposal to launch a Cosmic Dancer to the Russian Mir space station was submitted to NPO Energia via their partner Kayser-Threde GmbH located in Munich, Germany. In November of that year, a "Letter of Intent" was signed and negotiations for the launch date, the price and the determination of the technical specifications commenced.
In December, 1992, a contract was signed with Kayser-Threde GmbH to launch the artwork to the Mir space station on a Progress supply vehicle with launch opportunities in March or May of 1993.
The Cosmic Dancer is a painted geometric form made out of welded aluminum tubing measuring approximately 35 x 35 x 40 centimeters and weighing exactly one kilogram. These dimensions were prescribed by the parameters of the Mir station environment as were the Lascaux acrylic paints which were pre-tested and certified for their suitability in the orbital habitat.
The color scheme of the flight sculpture was based on the following criteria: (1) the sculpture had to have sufficient contrast with the Mir environment in order to insure that good images could be obtained on film and video and, (2) it should offer an "aesthetic" contribution to the cosmonauts' living quarters. With these two considerations as a guide, a dominant green color scheme for the flight object was chosen.
This decision for the colour scheme was reached after viewing photographs and video tapes of the Mir station interior which indicated a somewhat drab environment that was crowded and cluttered with equipment, tubes and cables. Green was also considered because of its association with terrestrial plants and the psychologically calming effects that associations with nature are reported to induce.
After its arrival on the Mir space station, cosmonauts Gennadi Manakov and Alexander Polishchuk allowed the Cosmic Dancer to freely float and spin in their living space. They were instructed by the artist to evaluate the impact of having art share their weightless environment. They made a photographic and video documentation of their interaction with the Cosmic Dancer and recorded a commentary of their experience. This project documentation consisting of a video cassette in Beta quality, photographs and a sound cassette were returned to Earth in September 1993.
A Multi-Dimensional Artwork
The Cosmic Dancer represents a convergence of several directions in my art that I had been developing since 1976. At that time I looked to science to see what it had to say about the nature of reality. What I discovered and what has influenced my art ever since, was a description of the universe at the microcosmic level consisting of sub-atomic particles in an inseparable network of interactions. 
These interactions involve a ceaseless flow of energy which gives rise to the stable structures of the material world or the macrocosmos. The structures that make up physical reality do not remain static but are transient and oscillate in rhythmic movements. Thus the entire universe is engaged in endless motion and activity: in a continual cosmic dance of energy. Both the aesthetic aspects of this description as well as the environmental implications of an interdependent and interconnected universe stimulated me deeply. The physical aspects of cosmic forces and the concept of the cosmic dance has become embodied in my art over the years.
Some particle physicists (Fritjof Capra, Gary Zukav) pointed out that this description of the universe was similar to that of Eastern mystics which have also used the image of the dance to convey their dynamic view of the universe.
The "Dance of Shiva", the Hindu god of creation, is the dancing universe symbolizing the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction and the daily rhythm of birth and death. I was both impressed and inspired by this seeming merging of diverse cultures and these diverse yet similar ways of describing the cosmos. This seemed to indicate that knowledge about the nature of the universe was somehow imbedded in our physical being. As we human beings are intelligent products of cosmic evolution - this insight made sense to the artist.
I have integrated this information into my art by using points of color as a basic visual element - a metaphor of a quantistic/pointillistic universe. All of my art during this time, mostly paintings and sculptures, has used some variation of this approach, both as subject matter and through artistic technique. The painted surface of the Cosmic Dancer is typical of this approach.
Since 1981, I have created a series of sculptures that are characterized by their twisted geometric shapes. The geometric form of these sculptures enabled them to be positioned in different ways. This aspect allowed the sculptures to be viewed from different perspectives and, in relation to their surroundings, the same sculpture could appear to be a unique three-dimensional form as a result of its varied positions. Depending on the complexity of the sculpture, usually between four and eight resting positions could be found for each sculpture - the "gravity constant" being the ultimate determining factor.
The Cosmic Dancer takes this concept to its logical conclusion. By taking advantage of the micro-gravity environment found in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the Cosmic Dancer could indeed be perceived from an infinite number of perspectives and "dance" its own dance in the cosmos.