Celestial objects and the space in which they appear to hang have been a perennial subject of works of art through human history. From medieval manuscripts to celestographic plates to digital productions, space has been in the focus of artistic vision. Their glimmering grandeur has inspired us aesthetically, and has also served practical purposes for activities like navigation and self-knowledge and reflection.
In this panel, featuring Elizabeth Hamilton of Fort Valley State University, Lukas Feireiss of Berlin University of the Arts, and Damon Bradley of DeepSpace Technologies, speakers examined and discussed several works of space art and their import to human society at various times and places. What can these works tell us about those who produced them, their contemporary times, and now our own? Curated and moderated by Nick Travaglini (Liberal Studies - The New School), Co-Chair of New School Policy and Design for Outer Space (NSPDOS) of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.
Elizabeth Hamilton, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at Fort Valley State University and art historian whose research focuses on visual culture of the African diaspora, feminism, and Afrofuturism. Her first book: Charting the Afrofuturist Imaginary in African American Art (Routledge) will be released August 12, 2022. Dr. Hamilton has published research in Nka: The Journal of Contemporary African Art, African Arts, and the International Review of African American Art.
Lukas Feireiss works as a curator, artist, writer and educator in the international mediation of contemporary cultural reflexivity beyond disciplinary boundaries. His practice Studio Lukas Feireiss provides overall conceptual development, design and implementation for diverse formats of knowledge dissemination and visual communication – such as exhibitions, publications, symposiums and other events. Lukas Feireiss attained his graduate education in Comparative Religious Studies, Philosophy and Ethnology, where he specialized in the dynamic relationship between architecture and other fields of knowledge. He is the curator and editor of numerous books and exhibitions and co-founder of Studiolo Berlin. Curatorial Space for Contemporary Creativity. He teaches at various universities worldwide.
Research engineer, entrepreneur, DJ, and electronic music community leader, Dr. Damon Bradley is a 20-year NASA veteran and founder of his recent startup company DeepSpace Technologies, Inc. Dr. Bradley is also a touring techno/trance DJ and the founder of the TechnoFist podcast and online community which includes over 3000 members and spans globally. He also is a two-time instructor for Washington DC's Executive Leadership Council's DECODED program and adjunct professor at University of Maryland Baltimore County. Dr. Bradley holds a patent in software-defined radio and blends his love of signal processing, mathematics, and music to create art, scientific instruments, and inspiration for future generations of space technologists and stewards of Earth.
Nick Travaglini (Liberal Studies - The New School) is a Co-Chair of New School Policy and Design for Outer Space (NSPDOS) of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. NSPDOS focuses on the social aspects of space, and Nick studies the production and maintenance of these endeavors' vital technical infrastructures.