For an art exhibit that’s out of this world, take off for “NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration,” at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
“NASA/Art” is on loan from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, augmented by films, lectures, and family activities with a Colorado twist.
Explore the history of the space age through the eyes of artists including Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, Norman Rockwell (yes, really), and Denver artists Vance Kirkland and Monica Petty Aiello.
Visitors entering the exhibit first see “Behind Apollo 11,” a 1969 Rockwell painting. This piece shows a sea of faces turned skyward, representing the scientists, ground crews, astronauts and others who made the space program possible.
A second Rockwell painting, from 1965, shows Gemini astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young as they suit up. (NASA lent Rockwell a spacesuit so he could get the details right.)
Other highlights include a 3-D multimedia piece by Tina York (Pablo Picasso’s daughter) and a classic Warhol image (an astronaut in a neon-red suit).
There are 73 drawings, paintings, sculptures and other artistic interpretations of rocket launches, moon landings and floating in space, all created through the NASA Art Program founded in 1962.
“NASA realized that art would resonate with the public more than just photographs,” says museum director Blake Milteer.
Artists got to do everything, including riding in flight simulators and witnessing aspects of the space program not usually open to the public.
“I think it’s rare for a government agency to show this kind of insight and forward thinking,” he says.
In his view, these works represent a common cultural experience. Nearly everyone remembers how they felt when they saw the image of man stepping onto the moon for the first time, and most adults can recall where they were when the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles were lost.
In addition to the art, don’t miss a fascinating pair of videos, created by Colorado Springs artists, inviting patrons to sit, recline and look up at the ceiling as images of space float by.
Go online to see some of the NASA/Art images: gallery
Homer Simpson, Wall•E and other visitors from space
NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration is at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., through March 7. Special events include the following.
Jan. 30: David Grimspoon, NASA adviser and curator of astrobiology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, discusses possible environments for extraterrestrial life.
Feb. 6: A triple family film fest, including “Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out,” “Deep Space Homer” (a “Simpsons” episode), and “Wall•E.”
Feb. 13: Monica Petty Aiello, a Denver mixed-media artist whose work is in the exhibit, will discuss her efforts to simulate the terrain of planets such as Jupiter.
For a full schedule that includes workshops related to space and art, go online to , or call 719-634-5581.
— Linda DuVal
