About My AstroArt
From 1959 until 1970 my family lived in Merritt Island, Florida. Merritt Island is where the Kennedy Space Center is located and just across the Banana River from Cape Canaveral. During this time I personally witnessed the beginnings of the U.S. space effort. My father, sister and an uncle worked at the space center and during my university times, I held jobs at the space center during the Apollo program in the summers of 1967 and 1968.
O.U.R.S.
Orbiting Unification Ring Satellite
OUR-Space Peace Sculpture, 1990
OUR-Space Peace Sculpture, 1990
Drawing on this early experience, beginning in the mid-1980’s I initiated a number of "art-in-space" projects. The early projects, such as the "O.U.R.S. - Orbiting Unification Ring Satellite" and the "OUR-Space Peace Sculpture", were developed extensively and resulted in agreements signed with the former Soviet Union and the construction of full size model of an inflatable space sculpture (OUR-SPS) by the Russian industrial firm NPO Energia in 1990.
Cosmic Dancer Sculpture
Mir Space Station (1993)
On May 22, 1993, the Cosmic Dancer sculpture was the first of my artworks to be launched into outer space. Sent to the Russian Mir space station with the purpose to investigate the properties of sculpture in weightlessness, the Cosmic Dancer sculpture was the first three-dimensional artwork purposely designed and officially integrated into a human habitat beyond Earth. The artwork was never returned to me and may have been aboard Mir when it was
de-orbited in 2001.
Ars ad Astra:
The 1st Art Exhibition in Earth Orbit
Mir Space Station (1995)
In September 1995, in a cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), I organized a second art-in-space project called "Ars ad Astra: The 1st Art Exhibition in Earth Orbit" - a collection of original artworks from 20 international artists which was flown to the Mir space station as a part of ESA's EUROMIR'95 mission.
In the 1990's I made a series of Earth paintings depicting our home planet from the perspective of space.
I have been active in the promotion of a cultural dimension to humanity's space activities working with the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). Also, I have a long collaboration with Leonardo - The Journal of the International Society of Art Science and Technology and it's French organization Olats.
For more detailed information on my space art activities please visit my space art website: ars astronautica
Since 1992, in collaboration with astronautical engineer Dr. Marco C. Bernasconi, I have been developing The Space Option concept - an evolutionary plan to meet humanity needs on Earth with resources from space.
In 2016, I initiated Greater.Earth which introduces a new perception of our planet that is based on Earth's true cosmic dimensions as defined by the laws of physics and the Earth’s gravitational attraction describing a sphere with a diameter of 3 million kilometers. I believe that awareness of this perception may help to catalyze an optimistic path towards a sustainable and prosperous future for humanity while helping to insure the survival and perpetuation of all life on Earth.
Greater.Earth is also an art intervention where I am the Resident Artist within my own alternative space program including launch vehicles, satellites, a reusable spaceplane and a space station. From this vantage point in Earth orbit, I am broadcasting regular video communications, interviews and observations about events that are impacting our civilization. Computer generated video animations are being combined with my intimate knowledge about how space development and space technologies can significantly address the many environmental, geopolitical, economic and cultural challenges that humanity currently faces. I believe it is essential that a robust cultural dimension becomes integrated into humanity’s astronautical endeavors in order to insure its success for future generations.
In this context, and on the Greater.Earth website, I am developing a number of additional art-in-space interventions that invite public collaboration:
- The Space Peace Star - an orbital sculpture in the shape of Earth’s astronomical symbol.
- The Space Option Star - an inflatable sculpture in the shape of an icosahedron that is covered with solar panels promotes the idea that solar energy harvested in space can help solve humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels with a CO2 neutral solution.
- EarthSeeds - project to plant the seeds of Earth throughout the solar system in order to insure that life will spread and survive elsewhere, perhaps fulfilling humanity's ultimate purpose.
- Cosmic Stones – an art intervention with the message that humanity’s future should rather be a Space Age than a Stone Age.
- The GEO-Political Observatory - a virtual Earth observation satellite that focuses on the geopolitical events and developments that are affecting the well-being of all citizens of Earth.
- Art to the Stars - an ongoing historical perspective on the arts and space.
