NASA Art Program
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The NASA Fine Art Program was established in 1962.
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
administrator, James Webb, jump-started the program by recommending artists to become involved in the agency. Artists, including
Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
,
Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954 ...
, Malcolm H. Smith and
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
were commissioned to record the history of space exploration through the eyes of artists. The first director of the Art Program was James Dean (NASA). Using artists of different mediums and genres serves the purpose of educating different audiences about NASA and space exploration. To give the artists the best experience possible, NASA allowed them unprecedented access to sites and materials. Participants were present at suit-up, launch sites, and press releases. All works, from sketches to finished products, were given to NASA for use in museums and exhibitions. The collection now includes 2,500 works by more than 350 artists. The program still exists today but is much smaller.


How the program began

James Webb, an administrator from 1961 to 1968, put the program into effect. Webb wanted to use art to capture the emotions and importance of what NASA was doing. James Dean (an artist and NASA employee) became the head of the program with the help of Hereward Lester Cooke, a curator of National Galleys. To insure that the program would succeed, Cooke looked at similar programs that the air force had and decided that the program needed three things done: Use only commissioned artists, keep all of the sketches that the artists drew while they were observing, and give artists an idea of how to represent NASA, but still let them create whatever they wanted.


Major events


Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

Artists first time observing a mission was the last Mercury launch, with Gordon Cooper's Faith 7. Robert McCall, Mitchell Jamieson,
Peter Hurd Peter Hurd (February 22, 1904 – July 9, 1984) was an American painter whose work is strongly associated with the people and landscapes of San Patricio, New Mexico, where he lived from the 1930s. He is equally acclaimed for his portraits and hi ...
, John McCoy,
Lamar Dodd Lamar Dodd (September 22, 1909 – September 21, 1996) was an American painter whose work reflected a love of the American South. Early life and education Born in Fairburn, Georgia, to Rev. Francis Jefferson Dodd and Etta Cleveland (Ed Dodd, cr ...
, Paul Calle and Robert Shore were the first group of artists chosen. Each artists was paid $800 for their services as well as the freedom to create whatever they wanted. The art created during the last Mercury launch made it possible for the program to continue.


Apollo 11 mission

In July 1969 the program had its biggest event. It captured the attention of the public so, the number of artists grew. Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are just two of the locations artist chose to observe. Soon after the mission, the director of the National Art gallery asked Dean to use the art created during the mission.


Artists involved

* Anderson,
Laurie Laurie may refer to: Places * Laurie, Cantal, France, a commune * Laurie, Missouri, United States, a village * Laurie Island, Antarctica Music * Laurie Records, a record label * ''Laurie'' (EP), a 1992 album by Daniel Johnston * "Laurie (Stran ...
— Music performance artist, ''The End of the Moon'' (2004) * Belbruno,
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- ''Starscape Over Mountains on Another World''
Breteau, Patrice
* Cavallaro,
Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...
— Painter, sculptor and abstract artist *Cunningham, James - Abstract paintings *E.V. Day, Sculptor - "Wheel of Optimism. *Freeman, Fred- ''Saturn Blockhouse'' * Hancock, Theodore *Hoffman, Martin - ''Sunrise Suit Up'' * Larkin, Sara — Painter, "Spacescapes" * Leibovitz, Annie — Photographer *
Levy Levy, Lévy or Levies may refer to: People * Levy (surname), people with the surname Levy or Lévy * Levy Adcock (born 1988), American football player * Levy Barent Cohen (1747–1808), Dutch-born British financier and community worker * Levy ...
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Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Elle ...
- ''Space Chrysalis'', 1985
Luzak, Dennis
— Painter
Massimino, John
— Artist
Nelson, John
— ''Space Visitor'', 1986
Pearce, John
— Photographer *Perlmutter, Jack- ''Moon, Horizon & Flowers (Rocket Rollout)'' *
Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954 ...
,
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
— ''Hot Shot,'' a montage chronicling the flight of a space shuttle *
Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...
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Terry Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district ...
and the
Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...
— Music Composition * Rockwell,
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
— "Astronauts on the Moon" *Schmidt, Charles - "Spacelab 1", "The Moon Suit" *Smith H. Malcolm - ''F1 Test Stands'' *Solie, John- ''Servicing Hubble'' * Thon, William- ''Space Age Landscape'' * Warhol, Andy - ''Moonwalk 1'' *Wyeth, James - ''Gemini Launch Pad'' *Zeller, Daniel - ''Titan''


First group of commissioned artists

* Calle, Paul - Designer of the 1969 stamp commemorating the first crewed Moon landing. * Dodd, Lamar * Hurd, Peter- ''Sky Lab'' * Jamieson, Mitchell- ''First Steps'' * McCall, Robert * McCoy, John * Shore, Robert


Personnel

*Bertram Ulrich — Curator *Robert Schulman — Director, NASA Art Program, (1975 - 1994) *James Dean (NASA) — Founding Director, NASA Art Program, 1962-1974


Selected bibliography

*
Visions of Flight: a retrospective from the NASA Art Collection
'' Schulman, Robert; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington D.C; 1988 * ''Artistry of Space: the NASA art program;'' James Dean, Robert Schulman, Bertram Ulrich; Artrain USA, Ann Arbor, MI; 1999 * ''NASA & the Exploration of Space : with works from the NASA art collection''; Roger D Launius, Bertram Ulrich; Stewart, Tabori & Chang; New York, NY; 1998


References

{{Reflist


External links


NASA/ART 50 Years of Exploration
Space art Arts councils of the United States Great Society programs Independent agencies of the United States government Organizations established in 1962 1962 establishments in the United States