Week 9: Space + Art

This week's discussion on the connection between space and art was definitely one of my favorite lessons from the entire course, especially since I am a huge sci-fi fan! While exploring the various artists from the resources provided to us, I came across one artist whose work immediately captured my attention, and that is Chesley Bonestell. Born in 1888, Bonestell was an American painter, illustrator, and architect best known for his space art, which depicted spaceflight and astronomical scenes far before the first manned missions. His work became an inspiration for all science enthusiasts, including astronomers, engineers, and physicists, among many others. In fact, today he is considered the "Father of Modern Space Art" and the "Dean of Astronomical Artists" (NM Museum of Space). 

"Saturn as seen from Titan, 1944." Discover, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/meet-chesley-bonestell-the-most-important-space-artist-youve-probably-never-heard-of. 


Originally, Bonestell began painting solely for his own amusement. However, after making his paintings public and sharing them with the editors of LIFE magazine in 1944, his work immediately gained recognition for its incredibly realistic, never-before-seen representation of outer space. It was from this moment on that Bonestell officially launched his career as a space and astronomy artist. His paintings eventually became featured in a countless number of science fiction books, articles, and magazines. One of his most famous collaborations was with Collier's 1950s magazine series, "Man Will Conquer Space Soon," which provided readers with detailed descriptions of what human spaceflight would look like in the future. 

"Man Will Conquer Space Soon!, 1952." Space Stuff, https://www.rmastri.it/spacestuff/wernher-von-braun/colliers-articles-on-the-conquest-of-space-1952-1954/. 


Another major project of Bonestell's was his 1949 co-production of the nonfiction book, The Conquest of Space. Bonestell worked with German-American science writer, Willy Ley, to create artworks that would reflect Ley's vision of "man's future in space" (NM Museum of Space History). Considered one of the first high-quality space travel books, Conquest of Space became the inspiration for a 1955 sci-fi film under the same name. 

"Conquest of Space Movie Poster." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047947/.   


Throughout his lifetime, Chesley Bonestell received a number of awards for his contributions, including the Science Fiction Achievement Special Award and the International Fantasy Award. Personally, I found it absolutely incredible how Bonestell was able to create such futuristic paintings during a time in which there was very little exposure to the field of space exploration! There is no doubt that his creations have had a lasting impact on the fields of space and art. 




Works Cited: 


1.) “Chesley Bonestell Gallery.” Chesley Bonestell, https://www.bonestell.org/Image-Gallery.aspx. 


        Accessed  June 2, 2023. 


      

2.) “Chesley K. Bonestell.” New Mexico Museum of Space History, 


        https://www.nmspacemuseum.org/inductee/chesley-k-bonestell/. Accessed June 2, 2023. 



3.) Fienberg, Richard T. “Meet Chesley Bonestell: The Most Important Space Artist You’ve Probably 


        Never Heard Of.” Discover, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/meet-chesley-


        bonestell-the-most-important-space-artist-youve-probably-never-heard-of.  June 2, 2023. 

   


4.) “Film: Chesley Bonestell, A Brush with the Future.” National Space Society, 

    

        https://space.nss.org/film-chesley-bonestell-a-brush-with-the-future/. Accessed June 2, 2023. 



5.) “Imagining the Un-Seeable: Early Space Artists.” Princeton Art Museum, 


        https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/transient-effects/painter-sun/northern-lights-and-worlds-

    

        beyond/imagining-un-seeable-early-space-artists. Accessed June 2, 2023. 



6.) Logsdon, John M. “Chesley Bonestell: American Illustrator.” Britannica, 


        https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chesley-Bonestell. June 2, 2023. 



7.) Vesna, Victoria. Lecture: Space + Art Part 6. Desma 9: Art, Science, and Technology. 

            University of California, Los Angeles. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 4, 2023 at 11:21 PM

    I was also interested in the works of Chesley Bonestell so I really enjoyed getting to learn more about him through your blog post! His works look so fantastic, especially in the context of the time period they are from when there wasn't as much knowledge about how space looked as there is now, so it's really no wonder why his art became so popular and influential among both artists and scientists even so long after he created them.

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