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Unit Nine: Space and Art

We as a people have had a fascination with space for a long time. I have always appreciated artistic representations of our solar system and other systems at work out of the earth's atmosphere. It takes a specific eye to present that kind of  data in a way that is beautiful to all. Because of the magnanimity and otherworldliness of space, people want to see interpretations of it that they can understand.
With modern technology, we can now take beautiful pictures of galaxies and stars farther away than is fathomable to us. There is less of a mystery surrounding what is out there, but people are still infatuated with the difference between earth and everywhere else. A particularly interesting force people have been experimenting with is gravity. It is becoming more and more accessible for people to experience zero or altered gravity, and for those that cannot experience it, they can still watch videos of what happens when the the pull of the earth disappears.
Image result for zero gravity plane maneuversMy favorite example of this is OK Go's music video for their song "Upside Down and Inside Out". They wanted to film a video in zero gravity, but in an airplane. The plane is able to simulate zero gravity through parabolic flight maneuvers (Incredible Adventure), but only for periods of about 20 seconds. They band wanted the video to be a single take so they would pause whatever they were doing every time gravity returned and resume when they were weightless again. Later, the intervals where gravity was acting upon the band were edited out and the weightless scenes were melded together. It takes about 5 minutes for the plane to get back to zero gravity through its flight pattern, so the whole single-take filming process took about 45 minutes to complete (okgo.net). OK Go is often very ambitious with their music videos and this one was a hit. People want to see what it would be like to be in zero gravity, and this music video was a the perfect medium for exploration of art and space.

Sources:
Dickinson, Boonsri. "Art in Space: Painting Created in Zero Gravity Sells for a Small Fortune - Discoblog : Discoblog." Discover Magazine Blogs - : Discover Magazine Blogs. Discover Magazine, 18 Nov 2008. Web <http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/11/18/art-in-space-painting-created-in-zero-gravity-sells-for-a-small-fortune/#.WxSnEi-ZPfY>.
"How Does Parabolic Flight Work?." Fly Fighter Jets & More with Incredible Adventures. Incredible Adventures, Web. <http://www.incredible-adventures.com/zero-g-how.html>.
OK Go. "OK Go - Upside Down & Inside Out BTS - How We Did It - YouTube." YouTube. OK Go, 17 Feb 2016. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnTqZ68fI7Q>.
Forde, Kathleen. "Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity curated by Kathleen Forde : EMPAC Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center : Troy, NY USA." Art and Zero Gravity. Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Web. <http://zerogravity.empac.rpi.edu>.
OK Go. "OK Go - Upside Down & Inside Out - YouTube." YouTube. OK Go, 13 Feb 2016. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWGJA9i18Co>.
Rose, David. "What is it like to fly in the Zero G plane? - Quora." Quora - A place to share knowledge and better understand the world.. Quora, 9 May 2015. Web. <http://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-fly-in-the-Zero-G-plane>.
"UPSIDE DOWN & INSIDE OUT FAQ & CREDITS | ." Okgo.net. OK Go, 11 Feb 2016. Web. <http://okgo.net/2016/02/11/upside-down-inside-out-faq/>.
"Zero Gravity Corporation : How it Works." Zero Gravity Corporation. Zero Gravity Corporation, Web. <http://www.gozerog.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=experience.how_it_works>.

Comments

  1. Allison CarrJune 6, 2018 at 10:19 AM

    I thought it was really interesting how you brought up the idea of experiencing zero gravity. It really shows how far we have come from just being able to view space with our naked eye to being able to simulate the experience of being in space. The development of this technology really shows how interested people are with the concept of going to space and how art and pop culture has really influenced that interest.

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  2. UnknownJune 6, 2018 at 10:56 AM

    Like Allison mentioned above I think it's super cool how you incorporated the music video. This perfectly shows the combination of space and art and the ability to use the advancements that have been made and incorporate them into everyday life such as music videos. I think this also gives and shows the hope and possibility of space travel for the regular person not just astronauts. The advancements that have been made within the last few years are making dreams become more and more possible. I just did a project on Elon Musk and his innovations are bringing space travel closer and closer to the near future.

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  3. AnonymousJune 7, 2018 at 12:42 AM

    Hi! I really enjoyed your blog post! I like how you used something so contemporary and current and tied that in with our topic! I have never heard of this group before but I love how they used the zero gravity airplane to show everyone what it's like to escape the force that keeps us on the ground haha. I knew planes like this existed but I didn't know how they achieved the zero-gravity feeling or how long it lasted. You included the chart of the pattern of flight that the plane takes in order to achieve zero-gravity and I thought that was very insightful. It combines mathematics, technology, everything that we have talked about this quarter, and I thought this was a great way to sum it all up!

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