Ah, the universe. It’s one of those concepts that transcends the ages, something we’ll never fully be able to comprehend in our limited time on Earth. What is within the cosmos? And what lies beyond the stars?
At the ArtScience Museum’s new The Universe and Art exhibition – jointly curated with Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, with artefacts from the Asian Civilisations Museum – the display takes you on a journey through the cosmos with over 120 artworks, scientific artefacts and manuscripts that tell the narrative history of scientists, astronomers, astrologers and scholars who have shaped and moulded our views of the universe we know today.
Traipse through the installation and you’ll find yourself surrounded by a mix of Eastern and Western philosophies, ancient and contemporary art, and science and religion.
We’ll walk you through the four different sections below.
Our Vision of the Universe
Highlighted here are 16 historical artefacts – on loan from the Asians Civilisations Museum – of various global religions that chart the journey of the birth of astronomy as viewed from both Eastern and Western civilizations.
You’ll also get the rare chance to view first edition works (read: original copies) of books that were written and documented by famous astronomers of the Renaissance period: Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton.
Here’s a little fun fact: Before these renowned astronomers made controversial headlines with their research, one of the earliest documented findings about the stars originated from Islamic scholars.
The Universe as Space-Time
Featuring structures and contemporary artefacts depicting various mysterious cosmic phenomenon, entities such as dark matter and black holes are explored and played with in artistic forms.
Take the installation Slow Arc inside a Cube VIII by British artist, Conrad Shawcross, as an example. It’s meant to make visitors think about the idea of the invisible phenomena surrounding our universe. In it, two strobes of light are rotating within the metallic cage, projecting moving shadows on the walls of the gallery.
A New View of Life
This third section primarily focuses on the origins of life existing within our universe. Probing visitors about the possibility of the existence of life beyond Earth, the display here focuses on contemporary depictions of alien worlds by artists like Lauren Grasso and Pierre Huyghe. Also present are artworks that suggest how robotics, nanotechnology and genetic engineering can give rise to new life forms in the universe.
Space Art
Finally, this section is laden with artworks specifically targeted at the environment of space. It features the early efforts of mankind’s forage into outer space, experimenting with the effects of zero gravity as well as the artistic implications that one can derive from it.
One highlight to check out is ‘moon’ score: ISS Commander — Listening to it on Mars by Hitoshi Nomura. The artistic musical piece draws inspiration from photographs of the moon’s craters by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, imprinting five circular lines along each photo of the moon to derive a musical note on the lines of the musical score.
Source: http://bit.ly/2oG1v7a
