ART AND SPACE

Besides meditation, which is probably one of the most famous ways of spirituality, history shows us that humans have always been religious. Church rituals and famous holidays – Christmas, Easter, etc. - bring people who share the same beliefs together. It is considered by specialists that church gatherings create stable communities in which anxiety decreases and many find comfort, because they receive answers to their problems. Choosing to adopt a more religious lifestyle has brought people back to their senses, has reunited families and has restored peace in many cases. Religion promotes the idea that through prayers, a good behavior and different habits, we make our way to divinity, where there will be no pain and suffering.

Thus, many religious institutions provide a variety of charitable events through which those in need can be helped, also brightening the mood and increasing the confidence of those who volunteer to help. Worldwide, there are lots of places in which men and women from different religions can gather and express their spirituality. On our settlement we are trying to create a life as similar as the one on Earth, providing Aphrodite with spaces specially destined for meditation, church rituals and praying, in which every religion and belief can be expressed. An environment like Aphrodite comes with a lot of difficulties in terms of adaptation. Our inhabitants will have to get used to a new normal, to a completely different lifestyle in order to reach a point in which they will consider the settlement their home and the place where they belong. This process obviously takes time and challenges someone emotionally. Seeing how spirituality benefits one’s mental health, we encourage everyone on our settlement to manifest their spiritual side and to connect with anything they feel attached to. Creating a balance between what surrounds us and ourselves is a key aspect when it comes to adapting to a new way of living.

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” ― Elbert Hubbard

Art is any creative work of a human being, a form of expressing oneself and manifests the beauty by making something visually entertaining. It allows “discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use”, as brilliantly said by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Art is more than just an image – it tells a story, as it elicits powerful sentiments and sends across meaningful messages through feelings. Arts encode information, stories and perspectives as it is a way of life and more than just a skill, it is a passion.

Art and science

For a while, it was believed that people are predisposed to either right-hemisphere brain dominant, which is more creative or to left-hemisphere brain dominant, which gives mathematical skills. However, this proved to be a misconception as many astronauts are both artists and scientists. By using both skills people use the entire brain, the left and the right, by making a union between art and science. As each artist is unique through their own experimentation and process, painting in lower-gravity can become a challenge that creates opportunities for redefining new processes. While doing science, there is often a routine that needs to be followed precisely, especially in space where is no room for errors. Due to routine, people are caught in keeping perspective out of sight. Through arts, people in space get a chance to introspect and relax, while looking for new horizons and vision, opening doors to “out-of-box” thinking. By usage of art, scientific data is better communicated. As science fiction led to science facts, art leads to visual communication as a “picture worth a thousand words”. Many art competitions are being organized on a regular basis on Earth and professional artists depict how far away planets or galaxies might look like after drawing scientific facts. Such galaxies are so far away that telescopes cannot reach to take real pictures therefore imagination brings perspective closer to reality.

Art and mental health

Arts are a way of expressing ourselves from the beginning of civilization and arts bring benefits to people’s mental health, by reducing stress, boosting confidence, developing problem-solving skills or improving quality of life for those with illness. Research has shown that engaging in just 45 minutes of art-making significantly reduced the levels of cortisol(“stress hormone”) because it forces the mind to slow down and focus on the details, people becoming calmer and less anxious. Problem-solving without boundaries and parameters but usage of imagination stirs creativity and challenges finding solutions for problems in ways were never solved before, as people in space are often challenged with unexpected. Also, as time in space is too long related to human life, we expect people who become older and mentally sick, like dementia or Alzheimer, to comfort themselves though artistic activities.

Art and society

Why is art important to Aphrodite settlement society? Society is driven by the powerful elites, the dependent masses, government, cultural producers and artists, as described by Vanes.

Action comes from the left-hand side while ideas come from the right. Hierarchy starts from top to bottom, from leadership to all individuals. As action is seen in policy changes and new laws, the source of ideas coming from the right, is hard to be quantified. Artists are represented on the side of ideas, as Artists think from their heart with big, revolutionary, and visionary ideas. Artists bring ideas and trigger policy makers or academics for action. This is why artists are able to move people to action and create a significant cultural and political contributions.

Art movement

Throughout history, art movements collected various artist messages under the same umbrella, specific to the passions, problems, doubts or challenges of the corresponding decade. At beginning of XXth century there was avant-garde movement characterized by optimism about the future. Industrial revolution brought the need for functional design, defined under Bauhaus movement, and later, kinetic art represented the physical movement as transportation vehicles became the new norm. As technology evolved, new movements came along and XXth century was known with most artistic movements as the speed of progress was phenomenal.

Today, we are immersed into contemporary art and in space exploration. A new artistic movement inspired from space exploration is currently under development, using different medias, like photography, computer-generated art or digital art. Aphrodite is a futuristic settlement that will also organize exhibitions with artworks made on Earth and transported to Aphrodite and will ensure cultural exchange with Earth by sending artworks to Earth and made on the settlement. Art on Aphrodite ensures that identities and cultures are given recognition in space as we should not lose our identity and not forget our roots that are deep down in thousands of years of civilization on Earth.

“When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind” – Chinese proverb