space art

The haunting beauty of abandoned playground rockets

Once, these rocket ships helped countless schoolchildren to conquer the vast reaches of space. Now, they look like a good way to get tetanus, with their rusty distressed metal. Photographer Lauren Orchowski’s new book Rocket Science documents their beautiful decrepitude. Orchowski’s photographs won second runner up in the portfolio category of the 2010 International Photography…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Sep 15

NASA’s dizzying concept art imagines ribbons of farmland in space

Back in the 1970s, NASA was creating seriously trippy images of lush, green human habitats crammed inside tubes in space. Farms and happy townsfolk stretch upwards and even wrap over your head, like an M.C. Escher vista. More weirdness below. We’ve paid tribute to NASA’s concept art before, but The Urban Times has dug up…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 30

Beautiful postage stamps from the “Mad Men” era celebrate spaceships and progress

The postage stamps of the 1950s and 1960s, from all over the world, are full of hope for the future. There are Soviet rockets, Nigerian stamps showing “the peaceful use of outer space,” and Israeli paeans to industry. The amazing Karen Horton has been posting a set of her mom’s old stamp collection on Flickr,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 19

This Lunar astronaut art is going up in the final space shuttle flight

There’s something almost unbearably sad and touching about this bright piece of art, depicting astronauts on the Moon. It’s going to be included on the very last space shuttle flight, the end of the space program that gave us Apollo. The acrylic painting, which won an art contest, is the work of 14-year-old Lake Orion,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 3

Listen to the ambient music of planetary orbits in our solar system

If you need to remember your tiny place in the space-time continuum, it’s time to listen to SolarBeat, a flash animation that converts the orbital frequencies of our solar system into notes. Artist Luke Twyman calls his creation a “simple ambient musicbox,” but it’s much more that that. It gives voice to the shape of…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jul 3

Art That Shows The Mind-Blowing Vastness Of Space

This digital science fiction art by German creator Tobias Roetsch, aka Taenaron, is so mind-blowingly vivid, it feels like a matte painting from the space opera movie of your dreams. In a new interview, Roetsch explains his visions of space. Talking to Richworks, Roesch explains: All those elements are basically done in photoshop. For planets…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders May 13

Robert McCall (1920-2010)

With Robert McCall‘s recent death at the age of 90 it seems fitting we take a look at the artist’s statement he wrote for his 1981 show at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, A Vision of the Future: The Art of Robert McCall. You’ll notice that he uses the word “artist” quite often. Apparently…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 23

The Space Age Isn’t Over, As Long As We’re Making Cool Art

The 1950s were a decade when science, space, and concepts of the future were celebrated within fashion, architecture, and design. Artist Mark Weaver takes advantage of the fantastic imagery and aesthetics produced during this era to inspire some breathtaking artwork. The series found on Weaver’s Flickr account is part of a worldwide project between graphic…

io9 Sonia Zjawinski Dec 30

This Space Elevator Is The Terrorists’ Next Target

Author David J. Williams has premiered some amazing art from his upcoming future-thriller book The Burning Skies on his blog, including this fantastic Phoenix Space Elevator. Click through to see a gorgeous space station. This is the Europa Platform, the largest space station in existence – and like the Phoenix Space Elevator, it’s a target…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Apr 9

Lunar Dreams: 40 Classic Moon Exploration Paintings

Remember the can-do spirit of lunar exploration? Back when it seemed the heliopause was the limit? Back then, artists like Norman Rockwell and Robert T. McCall painted bright, optimistic moonscapes and astronauts. Here’s a gallery. Most art is from NASA. National Geographic images from MySpaceMuseum. Robert T. McCall art from artist’s site. Thanks to commenter…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jan 21

Luna Resort Project Will Build a Tiny Swedish House on the Moon

As countries begin planning moon missions for over a decade from now, an artist known for his whimsical hotels has launched a plan to put a traditional Swedish “stuga” on the moon. Artist Mikael Genberg has already put a hotel underwater, and another one 30 meters up in a tree. He’s also designed a place…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 19

Space Picnicking Not For Those With A Weak Constitution

Josh Cochran’s “The Future Is Space” mixes my two loves: sandwiches and space. Cochran explains on his blog that he was inspired by the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986 to become obsessed with Tom Sachs’ art piece “Space Program.” You may be familiar with the animated commercials Cochran created for the Science Channel, which…

io9 Meredith Woerner Aug 6

Behold the Tragic Beauty of the International Space Station

The International Space Station may be beautiful, but it has tragically been scorned by true interplanetary exploration enthusiasts as a money-sucking boondoggle. This month it enters the final stages of its complex assembly even though it’s scheduled to be phased out by 2017 (and presumably allowed to burn up before plummeting into the sea). Nevertheless,…

io9 Matthew DeBord Nov 27

The haunting beauty of abandoned playground rockets

NASA’s dizzying concept art imagines ribbons of farmland in space

Beautiful postage stamps from the “Mad Men” era celebrate spaceships and progress

This Lunar astronaut art is going up in the final space shuttle flight

Listen to the ambient music of planetary orbits in our solar system

Art That Shows The Mind-Blowing Vastness Of Space

Robert McCall (1920-2010)

The Space Age Isn’t Over, As Long As We’re Making Cool Art

This Space Elevator Is The Terrorists’ Next Target

Lunar Dreams: 40 Classic Moon Exploration Paintings

Luna Resort Project Will Build a Tiny Swedish House on the Moon

Space Picnicking Not For Those With A Weak Constitution

Behold the Tragic Beauty of the International Space Station

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