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The Moon: From Inner Worlds to Outer Space
Myths of the moon in the arts and sciences, 50 years after the first manned landing.
The moon has long furnished humankind with an artistic icon, an image of longing and object of scientific inquiry. Encompassing art, film, literature, architecture, design, natural history and historical objects, and published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing (July 20, 1969), The Moon surveys the iconography of the moon, from Romantic landscape paintings to space-age art. It takes the 1969 landing as a thematic fulcrum and a culmination of the deep-rooted cultural conceptions invested in the space race in the 1960s, from David Bowie to Disney.
The book also accounts for the science of the moon throughout the ages, from Galileo to NASA, addressing the many lunar myths that have existed throughout time. Also explored here is moonlight, an important theme in the Romantic nocturnal landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich, J.C. Dahl and Carl Julius von Leypold. Another powerful artistic genealogy is associated with science fiction, a genre that has on occasion influenced space programs: Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865), for instance, famously inspired NASA's Apollo programs. Film pioneers such as Georges Méliès and Fritz Lang created cinematic lunar voyages, and in the 1930s, surrealist artists such as Joseph Cornell, Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst explored the moonlit landscape as psychological allegory. Later, during the Cold War, superpowers on both sides of the Iron Curtain worked closely with artists to orchestrate and interpret the space race: Robert Rauschenberg, for example, was one of eight artists invited by NASA to witness Apollo 11, while artists in the Soviet Union played a central role in building the cult of the cosmonaut.
The Moon looks at all these lunar themes and myths, in a thrilling and inspirational gathering for anyone who has felt the moon's pull on their imagination.
The moon has long furnished humankind with an artistic icon, an image of longing and object of scientific inquiry. Encompassing art, film, literature, architecture, design, natural history and historical objects, and published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing (July 20, 1969), The Moon surveys the iconography of the moon, from Romantic landscape paintings to space-age art. It takes the 1969 landing as a thematic fulcrum and a culmination of the deep-rooted cultural conceptions invested in the space race in the 1960s, from David Bowie to Disney.
The book also accounts for the science of the moon throughout the ages, from Galileo to NASA, addressing the many lunar myths that have existed throughout time. Also explored here is moonlight, an important theme in the Romantic nocturnal landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich, J.C. Dahl and Carl Julius von Leypold. Another powerful artistic genealogy is associated with science fiction, a genre that has on occasion influenced space programs: Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865), for instance, famously inspired NASA's Apollo programs. Film pioneers such as Georges Méliès and Fritz Lang created cinematic lunar voyages, and in the 1930s, surrealist artists such as Joseph Cornell, Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst explored the moonlit landscape as psychological allegory. Later, during the Cold War, superpowers on both sides of the Iron Curtain worked closely with artists to orchestrate and interpret the space race: Robert Rauschenberg, for example, was one of eight artists invited by NASA to witness Apollo 11, while artists in the Soviet Union played a central role in building the cult of the cosmonaut.
The Moon looks at all these lunar themes and myths, in a thrilling and inspirational gathering for anyone who has felt the moon's pull on their imagination.
- GenresArt
128 pages, Hardcover
First published October 23, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 24, 2020
The Moon is a detailed and beautifully portrayed book commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing by the Louisiana Modern Art Museum in Humlebæk, Denmark.
Curators and scientists share their essays here amongst the gorgeous artwork showing historical, scientific, and artistic renderings of the Moon. There are poems by Sappho, Jorge Luis Borges, D.H. Lawrence, Li Po, Fernando Pessoa included, as well as a short story by Italo Calvino, excerpted from his Cosmicomics collection entitled "The Distance of the Moon", translated from the Italian by William Weaver.
Curators and scientists share their essays here amongst the gorgeous artwork showing historical, scientific, and artistic renderings of the Moon. There are poems by Sappho, Jorge Luis Borges, D.H. Lawrence, Li Po, Fernando Pessoa included, as well as a short story by Italo Calvino, excerpted from his Cosmicomics collection entitled "The Distance of the Moon", translated from the Italian by William Weaver.
September 9, 2019
This is the companion book for the eponymous exhibition.
This highlights an interesting collection of artwork and literature.
Interspersed are articles about the time periods. The cultural impact and the art of the period.
One noticable exclusion is Chesley Bonestall. There is a discussion about the movie "Destination Moon", but there is no mention of Bonestall, nor any artwork. Leaving out someone so important to early space age culture definitely lowers the impact of both the exhibition and this companion book.
This highlights an interesting collection of artwork and literature.
Interspersed are articles about the time periods. The cultural impact and the art of the period.
One noticable exclusion is Chesley Bonestall. There is a discussion about the movie "Destination Moon", but there is no mention of Bonestall, nor any artwork. Leaving out someone so important to early space age culture definitely lowers the impact of both the exhibition and this companion book.
November 5, 2018
Maravilloso catalogo de la exhibición Manen en el museo Louisiana en Humlebaek en Dinamarca. Ensayos sobre la luna en el arte, en la ciencia y como un elemento que permite pensar en los sucesos en la sociedad. Los Ensayos son muy buenos, las fotografías magnificas. Realmente añade valor a la exposición.
October 11, 2023
The wonder of our satellite and how it towers over us, both physically, emotionally, artistically and spiritually.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews