Cosmic Dancer Project Information - an art-in-space intervention by Arthur Woods on the Mir space station On May 22, 1993/title>  <meta name="Keywords" content="space, art, spaceart, mir, station, art-in-space, arthur, woods, weightlessness, astronautical, cosmic, dancer, sculpture, 1993, launch, orbit, orbital,shiva" /> <meta name="Description" content="Cosmic Dancer Project Information: 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. " /> <link href="styles/cosmic-style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" /> <style type="text/css">  </style> <script type="text/javascript" src="p7pm/p7popmenu.js"></script> <style type="text/css" media="screen">  </style> </head> <body bgcolor="#333333" onload="P7_initPM(1,1,1,-20,10)"> <span class="style3"></span> <div align="center"> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#333333"> <tr> <td><div align="right" class="style2"><span class="style6"> cosmic dancer : a space art intervention by arthur woods </span><img src="images/clear-pixel.gif" width="1" height="1" /><br /> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><ul id="p7PMnav"> <li><a href="index.php">home</a></li> <li><a href="#" class="p7PMtrg">about</a> <ul> <li><a href="arthurwoods.php">arthur woods</a></li> <li><a href="project.php">project info</a></li> <li><a href="cosmonaut.php">cosmonauts</a></li> <li><a href="publications.php">publications</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#" class="p7PMtrg">video</a> <ul> <li><a href="video.php">video gallery</a></li> <li><a href="video_use.php">video use</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#" class="p7PMtrg">photos</a> <ul> <li><a href="photos.php">gallery</a></li> <li><a href="use.php">photo use</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#" class="p7PMtrg">press</a> <ul> <li><a href="news.php">recent</a></li> <li><a href="previous_press.php">previous</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#" class="p7PMtrg">shop</a> <ul> <li><a href="dvd.php">dvd</a></li> <li><a href="shop-prints.php">prints</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="shows.php">shows</a></li> <li><a href="feedback-formular.php">contact</a></li>   </ul></td> </tr> </table> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" bgcolor="#66CC00"> <tr> <td>  <table width="800" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#666666"> <tr> <td align="left"> <p><strong>An Artwork Designed for Spac</strong>e</p> <p><strong><img src="images/soyuz.jpg" width="254" height="400" hspace="10" align="left" /></strong>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 <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> 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.</p> <p> In September 1992, a proposal to launch a<em> Cosmic Dancer</em> 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.<br /> <br /> 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.</p> <p> The <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> 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 <a href="http://www.lascaux.ch/"><strong>Lascaux acrylic paints</strong></a> which were pre-tested and certified for their suitability in the orbital habitat.<br /> <br /> 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. </p> <p> 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.<img src="images/mir-orbit-250.jpg" width="250" height="249" hspace="10" align="right" /></p> <p>After its arrival on the Mir space station, cosmonauts Gennadi Manakov and Alexander Polishchuk allowed the <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> 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 <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> 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. </p> <p><strong><em><a href="cosmonaut.php">Comments by Cosmonaut Alexander Polischuk - translated from the Russian language audio recording made on Mir space station - 1993</a></em></strong></p> <p> <strong>A Multi-Dimensional Artwork</strong> <br /> <br /> The <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> represents a convergence of several directions in my art that I have 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. <img src="images/sivanatarja.gif" width="300" height="376" hspace="10" vspace="10" align="left" /><br /> <br /> 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 <em>cosmic dance</em> 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 <em>cosmic dance</em> has become embodied in my art over the years. <br /> <br /> Some particle physicists (<strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0877735948/ref%3Dase_spiritwalkA/107-9967367-0298954">Fritjof Capra</a>, <a href="http://www.zukav.com/index.htm">Gary Zukav</a></strong>) 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. </p> <p> The <strong><a href="http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/2875/">"Dance of Shiva"</a></strong>, 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. </p> <p> For more than twenty-five years, 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 <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> is typical of this approach. </p> <p><img src="images/4views.jpg" width="364" height="273" hspace="10" align="right" />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. </p> <p> The <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> takes this concept to its logical conclusion. By taking advantage of the micro-gravity environment found in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the <em>Cosmic Dancer</em> could indeed be perceived from an infinite number of perspectives and "dance" its own dance in the cosmos.</p> <p><strong>Sculpture and Gravity</strong> <br /> <br /> Gravity is the cosmic force that is responsible for the consolidation of form, the movements of the celestial bodies and determining the eventual fate of the entire universe. As a terrestrial environmental factor this cosmic force, the "gravity constant", is hardly considered as essential to the creation of art, yet it has profoundly influenced and determined both the conception and the perception of sculpture since its beginnings. <br /> <br /> Because they are created in a terrestrial civilization, all sculptures have a "resting point" - a point of contact in which their mass interacts with the gravity of the Earth. Sometimes sculptures are fixed to a base so that their appearance seems natural in our gravity dominated environment. Others stand, rest or are fixed to some supporting structure. Even balloon or air-filled sculptures that may float in the air are positioned by the forces of gravity.</p> <p> Consciously or unconsciously, artists conceive and carry out their sculptural creations with the "gravity constant" determining the eventual resting point of the work, and, by so doing, they pre-determine how the sculpture will eventually be perceived by the observer. This "gravity constant" has much to do with our perception and appreciation of sculpture - as our response to its aesthetic "rightness" is based on our own experiences in our terrestrial environment. Thus, the creation of every physical sculpture or three-dimensional artwork ever created has been influenced by gravity. <br /> <br /> When imagining human civilization extended into outer space, it is obvious that the art of this civilization will take advantage of its new environment. The qualities specific to this environment will have a fundamental effect on both the conception and perception of the artworks in it - much like the gravity constant has had on the evolution of terrestrial art. In the zero-gravity (zero-G) environment of outer space, the gravity constant disappears and sculptures become weightless. As a consequence, the conception, the perception and the appreciation of an artwork will be altered in such an environment.</p> <p> A sculpture floating in a zero-G environment could be viewed from an infinite number of perspectives or angles. This free floating aspect also enables a kinetic dimension to such artworks-resulting in their seemingly independent motion. </p> <p><strong>Why Put Art in Space?</strong> <br /> <br /> Art is the expression of any ideal that artists can realize in a plastic form. In addition to language or literature, the visual arts have been a fundamental way of communicating humankind's understanding of the universe. Thus, any artwork that artists create represents in some way their personal intuitive interpretation of their reality, hence their understanding of the cosmos in which they exist. Art in-and-about-space has the potential to expand our comprehension of this new human experience, transforming it from a technical and scientific activity into other, broader forms of understanding. <br /> <br /> <em>"Visual artists and writers have created fictional images and scenarios on the development of space. Such visions are the primary way that the general public is introduced to ideas about space exploration. Artists and writers, in fact, lay the foundation which makes future space activities understandable by the general public and thus secures the necessary political support."</em> <br /> <br /> The above quote is from the 1993 International Astronautical Congress Call for Papers for the Symposium on Space Activities and Society: Arts and Literature. If the above words were in fact widely acknowledged, there would be no discussion about the importance of including art in today's space programs. <br /> <br /> Artists and writers of the past created the visions upon which the present space program has been built. Over the years many "space artists" have served the space community as illustrators of astronomical and astronautical information provided to them by the scientists and technologists and by so doing they have helped this community to visualize and realize its goals. </p> <p> Art is also a traditional and powerful means of communication. Integrating space technology into art and using the space environment for the realization of artworks which can be experienced around the world speaks of enormous potential for global communication. Considering the immensity of the universe and the potential impact that space discoveries may have on our religions, philosophies and social systems, space art is full of promise. It is somewhat amazing however, that after almost fifty years of space activities, very little art addressing these themes can be found within the mainstream arts of our culture. Only recently the international museum and gallery scene has begun to pay attention and devote exhibitions and events to the artistic exploration of outer space. <br /> <br /> Today, humanity is confronted by a growing number of political and environmental challenges that will ultimately determine its survival and success as a species. Continued space development and exploration offers humanity the most optimistic option to survive and prosper. Yet, only when society becomes fully aware of the importance of space activities to their lives and to their future, will the hopes and dreams of humanity have a chance to become a reality. In short, the future of human civilization and, indeed, even the survival of humanity as a species is at stake. Thus, an expanded cultural dimension to human activities in space is desperately needed just as humanity is in need of expanding its presence beyond Earth - an idea long overdue for both art and space development. </p>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"><img src="images/clear-pixel.gif" width="1" height="1" /></td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p align="center" class="style8" > <span class="style8"><a href="index.php"> <style type="text/css">  </style><span class="style1"> 1993-2010 © Arthur Woods </span> </a></span> </p> </div> </body> </html>