Art in Orbit

This book explores how the gravitational conditions of space can inform new approaches to art practice, proposing new methodologies for art/science collaboration.

What role do the visual arts play in the emerging commercial spaceflight industry? Regarded widely as an irreverent luxury accessible to only a select few, commercial space exploration seems an unlikely setting for art practices. However, faced with the inevitability of this developing industry and the new environments it presents, a new field of creative practice is emerging. In Art in Orbit design theorist Barbara Brownie argues that these new environments offer novel opportunities that are yet to be fully recognized by the creative industries.

Throughout the book, Brownie explores the contexts, questions, challenges and opportunities for creative exploration of form, materials, and the body, in space. Drawing on original research in the STEAM subjects, the book highlights how artists, engineers, and theorists have begun working in close collaboration to reconsider practices that have been taken for granted throughout the history of art practice, demonstrating how ideas about orientation, weight, balance, and the familiar behaviours of art and craft materials are all radically altered in the microgravity of orbital space.

The research presented is supplemented by 9 original case studies from sculpture, craft, performance, and land art that has been shaped by the unique physical and psychological environments of space. Each case study is informed by exclusive interviews with artists who have produced work for space, and illustrate the real-world impact of the contexts and challenges explored elsewhere in the book.

Taking an original, critical approach to the relationship between the creative and spaceflight sectors, Art in Orbit sets out to define a new field of artistic practice and the real-world impact of collaboration between art and the space sector. In turn, it provides a template for developing new narrative strategies for space projects which will engage artists, scientists, and collaborative teams from across disciplines.