Spacearts - Space Art Database Project

Artists have been at the forefront of space exploration since its very beginning. Their works of imagination have stimulated and catalyzed a new human endeavor. Works of art and literature about space have both anticipated and stimulated space development while exploring destinations and technological concepts that were often too dangerous, too distant or too advanced for the science and technology of the moment. Artists have worked closely with space scientists and engineers to help them to visualize and develop their scientific and technological concepts making the dream of space exploration a reality. Science fiction literature with a space theme combined with cinematography has since become one of the most popular and financially successful artforms of all time. As such it stimulates the public's fascination with space exploration and likewise has a positive influence on maintaining the public's support for further space development. Today, a new breed of contemporary artists have initiated projects to explore outer space on their own terms by realizing their art beyond Earth or with their own bodies in weightlessness. To date there is no existing comprehensive documentation of this vast genre of art.

The goal of the "Spacearts - the Space Art Database" project is to document this important and exciting art form and to make it publicly accessible via the World Wide Web. The project was made possible through funding from the European Space Agency Technology Transfer and Promotion Office and has been carried out by Leonardo/OLATS (http://www.olats.org) - the French branch of Leonardo/ISAST (the International Society for the Arts, Science and Technology) and the OURS Foundation. Spacearts, with an initial web-based database engine and an integrated content management has been custom built and is now open to the public at http://www.spacearts.info. Spacearts is being developed simultaneously in English, German and French in order to serve as wide an audience as possible.

In this initial phase of the project, the database has currently documented the work of approximately 25 contemporary artists each with a selection of their most important works. It is estimated that the database will eventually document the work of approximately 1000 artists covering all the diverse facets of the genre of space art.

Updated 19 April 2006

Leonardo On-Line © 2006 ISAST
http://leonardo.info
send comments to isast@leonardo.info