Space Art at the Ryerson Conservation Area

Oct 08, 2009

Astronaut Glory space art

Schaumburg digital artist and NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador Jim Plaxco will be the featured speaker at the Friday, October 9 2009 meeting of the Skokie Valley Astronomers. Mr. Plaxco's lecture “Art And The Exploration of Space” explores the role of art in portraying the exploration of space. The presentation provides a historical overview of the evolution of space art as well as the ways in which space art has been used to both portray and express the emotional impact of space exploration on society.

According to Mr. Plaxco “An example of how art can influence public policy are Thomas Moran's paintings of Yellowstone. His portrayals of Yellowstone so captivated the general public that within a year President Grant made Yellowstone our first national park. Space art and astronomical art influenced me and motivated me to become both an artist and an advocate of space exploration. ”

Art And The Exploration of Space Event Details

Date: Friday October 9 2009
Time:8:00pm
Location:Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area
21950 N Riverwoods Rd
Deerfield, IL 60015

About the Skokie Valley Astronomers

The Skokie Valley Astronomers meet at 8 PM on the second Friday of every month at the Welcome Center of the Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area in Deerfield, IL. All of their meetings are free and open to the public. Following the presentation, telescopes will be available for viewing the wonders of the night sky weather permitting.

About Jim Plaxco

Jim Plaxco is a digital artist specializing in astronomical and planetary art, as well as abstract and algorithmic art. As a Solar System Ambassador for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and as a speaker for the Chicago Society for Space Studies, Jim has used his artistic and image processing skills to create astronomical and planetary images using data from a variety of space missions to illustrate his educational presentations.

In addition to creating art, Jim has judged space art contests for both NASA and the National Space Society. He has lectured on the subjects of astronomical art, space art and algorithmic art and has taught astronomical image processing at the Adler Planetarium.

A portion of Jim's astronomical art and space art can be seen at the Artsnova Digital Art Gallery.

For further information and/or interviews, contact Jim Plaxco.