Event 3: Cosmological Elements--Space and Art #3

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the third event in the Cosmological Elements series: "Floating Civilizations". Since I had attended the first two exhibitions, I knew I had to show up for the final one! Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the two other events in the series, I would definitely say that this third exhibition was my favorite! The focus was primarily on human perspectives of what life might look like in the future, especially when Earth eventually becomes inhabitable. The event featured incredible works by a number of artists including, Agnes Meyer-Brandis, Florian Voggeneder, Anna Hoetjes, Lucy McRae, and Quadrature. 

Email Confirmation of Event. 

As was the case with the previous exhibitions, I was absolutely astonished by all of the projects. These artists truly did provide an entirely new perspective on the various ways in which science and art ultimately inform one another. More specifically, each brought their own, unique vision of the potentiality of humans someday living in outer space. The two artists that particularly caught my attention were Florian Voggeneder and Anna Hoetjes. 

Florian Voggeneder is an Austria-based photographer who takes special interest in investigating the "human endeavor to become a multi-planetary species" (Florian). In the exhibition, Voggeneder presented his project, "The Kepler Station," which essentially portrays astronauts exploring the planet Mars. As part of his project, Voggeneder worked with AMADEE-18, a month-long Mars expedition simulation that took place in Dhofar, Oman. The purpose of this simulation was to test the various tools, procedures, and challenges that one might face on a real mission to the red planet. Through his photography, Voggeneder is able to provide us with an idea of what future human missions to our neighboring planet will look like. 

"The Kepler Station." 


The second artist whose work I found very inspiring was Anna Hoetjes, a visual artist and filmmaker based on Amsterdam. Hoetjes takes special interest in a number of fields, including, science history, technological development, and speculative fiction. During the event, Hoetjes shared with us her video installation, "Eyes in the Sky," which touches upon issues of the invisibility of women in the domain of space science. The fictional film addresses such issues by establishing a female narrative "into space history, where this is missing" (Hoetjes). This project is particularly meaningful to me because it serves as a way of giving credit to all of the women who played a significant role in making incredible contributions to the vast realm of space science. 

"Eyes in the Sky." 


All in all, I am very grateful for the opportunity to have attended all three exhibitions in the Cosmological Elements series! 



Works Cited: 

1.) Anna Hoetjes, https://annahoetjes.nl/About. Accessed June 9, 2023. 


2.) Cosmological Elements, https://cosmoselements.art/Artists. Accessed June 8, 2023. 


3.) Florian Voggeneder, https://www.voggeneder.net/work/. Accessed June 8, 2023. 


 4.) Greshko, Michael. "Inside an Otherworldly Mission to Prepare Humans for Mars." National 

        Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/space/2019/01/inside-an-otherworldly-mission-

        to-prepare-humans-for-mars, Accessed June 9, 2023. 


5.) Groemer, Gernot. "The AMADEE-18 Mars Analog Expedition in the Dhofar Region of Oman." Mary 

        Ann Liebtert Inc., https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2019.2031. Accessed June 9, 2023. 




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