Greater Earth
A New And Transformational Perception of Our Planet Since the beginning of human history the perception of its home planet Earth has always influenced the way humanity has formulated its beliefs and conducted its affairs. When Earth was perceived of as the entire universe it gave rise to myths and religions that permeate and influence society into the present time. Space exploration has provided humanity a perception of the “Whole Earth” – a blue sphere defined by its atmosphere floating in the vast expanses of the cosmos. This perception has catalyzed the globalization of its cultures and [...]
Space Option Star in ELEO
Developing solar power satellites (SPS) as a major energy source for Earth will involve multiple orbital demonstrators. Satellites in low Earth orbits (LEO) will have far lower costs than demonstrators in geostationary orbit (GEO) or High Elliptical Orbits (HEO), but they have the major disadvantage that they can deliver power to a receiving and rectifying antenna (rectenna) for only a few minutes, and only once every few days. However, Equatorial Low Earth Orbits (ELEO) offers the unique advantage to effectively deliver power to the same rectennas about 10 times every day. The Space Option Star in Equatorial [...]
EarthSeeds
EarthSeeds – Humanity’s Ultimate Purpose in the Evolution of Life The EarthSeeds art intervention by Arthur Woods is an open source, open space, open community astronautical art intervention. The EarthSeeds art intervention is designed to send the “Seeds of Earth” to other places in the solar system to help insure that Life will survive elsewhere if the conditions for its survival on Earth become inhospitable. It is based on the knowledge that in nature, the perpetuation and survival of all forms of life are maintained through the process of reproduction. The propagation of a species is the best way for it to survive [...]
Ars Ad Astra – The 1st Art Exhibition in Earth Orbit
The Orbiting Unification Ring Satellite and the OUR-Space Peace Sculpture projects were the beginnings of my “private space program” which began to unfold and develop in other and sometimes in parallel directions. Below is the history and details of the spaceflight of the Ars Ad Astra: The 1st Art Exhibition in Earth Orbit that was realized on the Mir space station in 1995. Ars Ad Astra: Mir Space Station 1995 Involving other artists in space has always been one of my goals. In my negotiations with the Russian space company NPO Energia in 1990, the idea to organize an art [...]
The Cosmic Dancer Sculpture on the Mir Space Station
On May 22, 1993, my sculpture called the Cosmic Dancer was launched to the Russian Mir space station on a Progress rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Cosmic Dancer – a painted geometric form made out of welded aluminum tubing measuring approximately 35 x 35 x 40 centimeters and weighing exactly one kilogram – was the first three-dimensional artwork to be specifically conceived for and officially realized in a space habitat. The purpose of the project was to investigate the properties of sculpture in weightlessness and to evaluate the integration of art into the human space program. After its [...]
The OUR-Space Peace Sculpture Project
Introducing a Cultural Dimension into the Space Environment Arthur R. Woods – Artist, Founder and President of the OURS Project. Member: I.A.A.A., I.S.A.S.T. Marco C. Bernasconi – OURS Vice President – Technical, Member: FBIS, A.I.A.A. Paper IAA-89-673 Presented at the 40th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation October 7-13, 1989 / Torremolinos, Spain Abstract Recent developments concerning the commercial use of outer space have made it possible for cultural events to take place in the space environment which can be seen and experienced by much of the world’s population. The opportunity to communicate to the global audience as well as [...]
The OURS Projects
The OURS Projects In the 1970’s my art had become inspired by scientific information about the nature of the universe which was reflected in my primary mode of expression, which at this time was mostly painting. In 1975, my wife and I moved to Zurich which exposed me to a thriving contemporary art scene. Four years later we moved to the US and, after a year and a half, we decided that Switzerland was the better choice for our circumstances and we returned to Switzerland in 1980. Signs & Symbols Acrylic on Canvas, 70 x 70 cm Back in Switzerland, [...]
Inflatable Technologies for Sculpture in Earth Orbit
A number of artists have made proposals for creating monumental artworks to be placed in Earth orbit which could be seen with unaided vision by those on Earth. While there has been a variety of technologies suggested most of the proposals have utilized some form of inflatable space technology. Echo 2 The idea of using inflatable structures goes back to the first Echo satellites launched by the US in the 60’s – although a number of inflatable concepts for space applications pre-dated these satellites. These were passive communication satellites and carried no other payload. However, they were significant because, [...]
Why Space Art? = Why Space?
Approximately 100 years ago, at the beginning of the modernist era and of “modern art”, the avant-garde was characterized by its confidence and optimism about the future. They held the firm belief that the industrial age was opening many new territories to explore and that art, in its most noble and explicit way, would find the necessary metaphors by which a radically changing culture could be explained. There was no sense that civilization would ever be threatened by the very forces that fueled their optimism. There were no statistics about pollution, overpopulation, ozone holes, and resource shortages to numb the [...]
The Role of Art in the Space Environment
Artworks that may be simultaneously experienced by the entire planet represent a revolutionary development in the history of the visual arts. In 1911, Wassily Kandinsky wrote: “The great epoch of the Spiritual which is already beginning, or, in embryonic form, began already yesterday……provides and will provide the soil in which a kind of monumental work of art must come to fruition.” The British art historian Herbert Read (1967) has written: “The artist and the community are profoundly interrelated. Traditionally, artists have been channels for the tempo, the tone and the intensity of their society. The function of their art is [...]
A New And Transformational Perception of Our Planet Since the beginning of human history the perception of its home planet Earth has always influenced the way humanity [...]
Developing solar power satellites (SPS) as a major energy source for Earth will involve multiple orbital demonstrators. Satellites in low Earth orbits (LEO) will have far lower [...]
EarthSeeds – Humanity’s Ultimate Purpose in the Evolution of Life The EarthSeeds art intervention by Arthur Woods is an open source, open space, open community astronautical art intervention. The EarthSeeds art intervention is [...]
The Orbiting Unification Ring Satellite and the OUR-Space Peace Sculpture projects were the beginnings of my “private space program” which began to unfold and develop in other and sometimes in [...]
On May 22, 1993, my sculpture called the Cosmic Dancer was launched to the Russian Mir space station on a Progress rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Cosmic [...]
Introducing a Cultural Dimension into the Space Environment Arthur R. Woods – Artist, Founder and President of the OURS Project. Member: I.A.A.A., I.S.A.S.T. Marco C. Bernasconi – OURS Vice President [...]
The OURS Projects In the 1970’s my art had become inspired by scientific information about the nature of the universe which was reflected in my primary mode of expression, which [...]
A number of artists have made proposals for creating monumental artworks to be placed in Earth orbit which could be seen with unaided vision by those on Earth. While there [...]
Approximately 100 years ago, at the beginning of the modernist era and of “modern art”, the avant-garde was characterized by its confidence and optimism about the future. They held the [...]
Artworks that may be simultaneously experienced by the entire planet represent a revolutionary development in the history of the visual arts. In 1911, Wassily Kandinsky wrote: “The great epoch of [...]
