NASA/ART: 50 Years of Exploration

by James D. Dean, Bertram Ulrich, Michael Collins (Foreword)

Artists, like astronauts, are constantly probing into the unknown. It is fitting that, shortly after the establishment of NASA in 1958, the NASA Art Program was created on the principle that artists are uniquely equipped to interpret and document the experience of space exploration. In the program’s early years, artists as diverse as Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, and James Wyeth participated. Over time, the Art Program has commissioned work from many of the world’s most distinguished artists. The collection includes works by Alexander Calder, Nam June Paik, William Wegman, Mike and Doug Starn, Vija Celmins, and Annie Leibovitz.
 
Along with a two-year touring exhibition with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), NASA/Art celebrates the 50th anniversary of NASA in October 2008 with an expanded selection of the best work created for the NASA Art Program, and stands as a lasting record of the impact of space exploration on the artistic imagination.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Photography, Science, Space

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jeff]

"Important events can be interpreted by artists to give a unique insight into significant aspects of our history-making advances into space. An artistic record of this nation’s program of space exploration will have great value for future generations and may make a significant contribution to the history of American art."


In 1962, four years after NASA's birth, administrator James Webb started a program by which artists were given free range of the facilities, with the purpose of recording the emotional impact, interpretation, and hidden significance of events which lie within the scope of the artist's vision. This book is a compilation of works that came out of that program, from the likes of Rauschenberg, Warhol, Rockwell and Leibovitz.

The fact that a government agency realized the value of having artistic documentation of our other-worldly endeavors is enough to make me love this book. The rad hologram on the cover is simply the icing on the cake.

-Amanda

[Opal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I loved seeing the space program through the eyes of this disparate group of artists - it's a very different perspective than we usually get.