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Origins of the Cosmic Stones in my Art
The Cosmic Stones are common naturally formed stones that have been found in nature where I live, are painted in my particular artistic technique that was inspired by particle physics and are destined for spaceflight into the cosmos.
Painting Inspired by the Microcosmos
The job of artists and scientists is to interpret and describe reality. Early in my art career, I turned to science for a contemporary description of reality and became inspired by particle physics. Scientists look at the material world and create explanations for the form and function of everything we experience. When painting an image of an object or a scene, the artist is trying to convey the essence and "being" of the object or experience.
What I discovered in my exploration of particle physics and what has influenced my art ever since, was a description of the universe at the microcosmic level consisting of sub-atomic particles in an inseparable network of interactions. These interactions involve a ceaseless flow of energy which gives rise to the stable structures of the material world which is the macrocosmos. The structures that make up our perception of physical reality do not remain static but are constantly transient and oscillate in rhythmic movements. Thus, the entire universe is engaged in endless motion and activity: in a continual cosmic dance of energy.
Voyager Series
120 x 150 cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Both the aesthetic aspects of this description as well as the environmental implications of an interdependent and interconnected universe stimulated me deeply. Based on the description of the microcosmos found in particle physics, I developed a painting style and "pointillistic" painting technique that uses points and dabs of color as a visual metaphor for the sub-atomic universe which is the foundation for the material world that we inhabit. To this I added calligraphic lines to signify energy and motion and "signs and symbols" indicating our reliance on various languages to explain our observations and understandings. Over the years I developed various combinations of these painterly attributes and applied them to a variety of artistic expressions that have included abstract as well as hyper-realistic painting and three-dimensional sculptural artworks and objects. Through the act of painting on physical objects I try to communicate the essence of the inner reality of all material in the perceivable universe. This can be described as looking at a form from the inside out.
The three-dimensional works included geometrically shaped and painted sculptures such as the Cosmic Dancer sculpture which was sent to the Mir space station in 1993, common objects such as paint brushes and furniture, and a series of naturally formed, painted stones called Philosopher's Stones which I commenced in the mid 1990's. As the Philosopher's Stones are a precursor to the Cosmic Stones project some further explanation is needed.
The Philosopher's Stones
Legend has it that an imaginary substance exists which was sought by alchemists in the belief that it would magically turn ordinary metals into gold or silver which would lead to tremendous wealth. Today, science and technology have become this imaginary substance and their "magic" has created tremendous wealth for our species. As we transverse the new millennium, our understanding about how to use this magic will determine the ultimate destiny and fate of our civilization and our species. It has been said that humanity sometimes has a knack for creating the right technologies for the wrong reasons . As the Philosopher's Stones were inspired by science I believe them be symbolic of our interdependent relationship to the magic of science and technology.
My intent to now send such painted stones into space adds a new dimension to these works and they now become Cosmic Stones by applying the "magic" of space technologies.
Philosopher's Stone, 1994
Acrylic on Stone ca, 8 x 20 x 6 cm
Local and Personal Connections
The idea of making Cosmic Stones is also directly related to my recent move to the historic Swiss town of "Stein am Rhein" translated into English as: "Stone on the Rhine". The local people refer to the village simply as "Stein". The local inhabitants are called "Steiners". Stein am Rhein is located at the beginning of the Rhine river as it flows from the Lake of Constance (Bodensee) on its way to the North Sea.
Stein am Rhein
Where the Lake of Constance (Bodensee) becomes the Rhine River
The stones I am using in the Cosmic Stones project obtained their final form through their journey from the Swiss mountains to the banks of the Rhine river next to where I live. They arrive serendipitously in "Stein am Rhein" where they I find them and prepare them for their ultimate journey into the cosmos.
Recently it was pointed out to me that a source of my name "Arthur" comes from the Irish Gaelic word meaning "stone" [1].
Space Art - Art for the Cosmos
My fascination and involvement with space activities goes back to my youth and to where I lived from 1959 - 1970 which was in the vicinity of the Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. There I personally witnessed the beginnings of the U.S. space program. In the summers of 1967 and 1968, I worked at the space center during the Apollo program.
Eventually space themes entered my artistic work and, beginning in the mid-1980's, I initiated and developed a number of art-in-space projects. The first of these was called " O.U.R.S - the Orbiting Unification Ring Satellite " which was designed to put "a circle in the sky" in the year 2000 symbolizing peace, hope and unity as a way to celebrate the new millennium. This technology behind this project utilized an exotic inflatable material that would become rigid when exposed to sunlight once it is deployed in orbit. At an orbital altitude of approximately 400 kilometers, with a diameter of 1 kilometer and a ring thickness of 30 meters, the O.U.R.S. sculpture would have appeared to observers on Earth to be one-quarter the size of the moon. [2]
In 1988, I introduced the " OUR-Space Peace Sculpture " which was conceived as a technical prototype of the O.U.R.S. This project was developed extensively which resulted in agreements signed with the former Soviet Union and the construction of full size model of an inflatable space sculpture by NPO Energia in 1990 in Russia. The project was designed to promote and celebrate international cooperation and the peaceful use of outer space. After significant development, the project was unfortunately postponed and eventually cancelled after the dissolution of the Soviet Union which resulted in the loss of sponsor support. [3]
However, the Russian space organizations were still eager to have such projects realized with their facilities and on May 22, 1993, my Cosmic Dancer Sculpture was the first of my artworks to be launched into outer space. Sent to the Mir space station with the purposes to investigate the properties of sculpture in weightlessness and to assess the process and value of adding art to crewed habitats in orbit, the Cosmic Dancer sculpture was the first three-dimensional artwork purposely designed for and officially integrated into a human habitat beyond Earth. The artwork was never returned and may have been aboard Mir when it re-entered Earth's atmosphere in 2001. [4]
With the goal to help open the space frontier to other artists, I initiated and managed another art-in-space project called Ars Ad Astra -the 1st Art Exhibition in Earth Orbit ". In a cooperation between the OURS Foundation and the European Space Agency (ESA), a collection of original artworks from 20 international artists expressing the theme "Space & Humanity" was flown to the Mir space station as a part of ESA's EUROMIR'95 mission. [5]
In 1995, I initiated the " SEEDS - Synergizing Earth's Evolutionary Development Spacewards " project. The purpose of this project was to promote the survival of terrestrial life in the cosmos by sending "seeds" or SEED artworks into space. The first instances of this work were designed to be of a symbolic and communicative nature leading to artistic realizations that could become repositories of our natural heritage in "seed banks" placed in orbit or on the Moon. Later, with sufficient enthusiasm and cooperation, "seed payloads consisting of genetically optimized materials" would possibly be integrated into interstellar space craft and the potential seeding of birthing star systems could be attempted. Due to the controversial and technical challenges involved, this project is on hold until the conditions for spreading life beyond Earth have improved. [6]
The Cosmic Stones project is a further development of both my three-dimensional painting and my art-in-space activities. The Cosmic Stones can be considered as "cosmic" artworks due to the fact that they are designed to be sent into outer space. As they are also directly related to my current home and surroundings they have a local and personal dimension.
References
- The meaning of "Arthur": http://www.thinkbabynames.com/name/1/Arthur
- 1992 Arthur R. Woods, OURS- The Orbiting Unification Ring Satellite: A Global Artwork In Space for the Year 2000: Communicating the Urgency of Outer Space Development, - Paper ESW 92-26 presented to the 1st European Space Art Symposium, Montreux, Switzerland. March 21-27.
- 1990 Arthur R. Woods & Marco C. Bernasconi, The Orbiting Unification Ring-Space Peace Sculptures: Progress Report on Global Art In Space, - Paper IAA-90-652 presented to the 41st IAF Congress, Dresden, Germany. October 6-12. Published in LEONARDO 24, [5] pp. 601-606.
- 1994 Arthur R. Woods, Art In Space: The Spaceflight of the Cosmic Dancer Sculpture - Article published in Earth Space Review. Vol. 3. No. 2. April-June. Also cover of same issue.
- 1995 Arthur R. Woods, Ars ad Astra: A Cultural Experiment on EUROMIR 95, Paper IAA-95-IAA.8.2.04 presented at the 46th International Astronautical Congress, Oslo, Norway, October 2-6.
- 1997 Arthur R. Woods, SEEDS - Synergizing Earth's Evolutionary Development Spacewards, Paper IAA-97-IAA.8.2.04 presented at the 48th International Astronautical Congress, Turin, Italy Oct. 6 - 10, 1997.
What are Cosmic Stones?
Origins of the Cosmic Stones in my Art
The Cosmic Stones as Art Objects
The Suitability of the Cosmic Stones in the Space Environment
Our Future: Will it be a "Space Age" or a "Stone Age"?
The Cosmic Stones Project as an Art Catalyst of the Space Age
Project Development and Implementation
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