Terminal Hanger Concept, Spaceport America, Designed by URS/Foster&Partners Conceptual image Courtesy of Vyonyx Ltd

Having infested the Earth and ravaged its resources, the desire to breed and colonize other planets increasingly occupies our fantasies. A recent conference on space architecture confirms that our galactic ambitions are fast being materialized…

Entrance to Spaceport, Courtesy of Spaceport America

Rendering of Space trash: Objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) - view over the North Pole - Courtesy of European Space Agency

Courtesy of Galactic Suite, galacticsuite.com

Projects under discussion include Spaceport America, an airport under construction in New Mexico, designed by architects Foster & Partners, that will serve as the terminal for Virgin Galactic’s space flights. Companies like Galactic Suite are offering orbital reservations in their yet-to-be detailed, space resort for the frequent flyer to the stars.

The Tate in London had sponsored a competition to render its next museum in space. Sandy Nairne, Former Director of National Programmes at the Tate had said on their website, “In order to fulfill their mission to extend access to British and International modern and contemporary art, the Tate Trustees have been considering for some time how they could find new dimensions to Tate’s work. They have therefore determined that the next Tate site should be in space….” The project is an ongoing forum and results from the 2002 competition can be seen at Tate in Space.

Given the chance to start afresh with the blank slate of space, we’ve made a bit of a mess. Between the moon and us lie smatterings of debris, drifting spacejunk from crashes, wrecks, explosions – about 50 years worth. Abandoned rocket fuselage and spinning plastic will, within our lifetime, be turned into fly-by historical tourist attractions on future commutes to the moon. Space-drifts of flotsam, clouds of nuts and bolts, discarded plastic, perhaps even geo-centric lingerie will result in interesting lunar eclipses, but we are likely to get used to it.

Space remains just out of reach of minds, and in land-bound dreams we fly or leap, and in nightmares fall from great heights, still subconsciously following Newton’s laws of physics.

Softroom © 2002 Tate Space Island

Courtesy of Galactic Suite, galacticsuite.com

It is a challenge to design for emptiness. But confronted with emptiness we only wish to fill it. Will gazing down at the planet give us room to speculate? And what if, mid-orbit, impelled by the vertiginous gloom, we wish to retch, would the vomit bags be designed for zero-g?

“Complex at the Centre of the Universe” by Staszek Marek, Poland

Stephen Hawking says:
“Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill…It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster on planet Earth in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand, or million. The human race shouldn’t have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward-looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space. We have made remarkable progress in the last hundred years, but if we want to continue beyond the next hundred years, our future is in space. That is why I’m in favor of manned, or should I say, ‘personed’ spaceflight.”

Whether an armchair traveler exploring virtual worlds or a mountaineer in search of the next highest thrill, through technology we’ve exceeded the frailness of our bodies, but perhaps not our propensity for boredom. Why not buy a ticket on Virgin Galactic, Space Tickets for $200,000, price of the return journey is included.

Zero G Graphic. Astronauts experiencing weightlessness in SpaceShipTwo cabin. Courtesy Virgin Galactic

More information:
European Space Agency on Space Trash
Galactic Suite
Spaceport America

Rob Pruitt and the Delusional Downtown Divas

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum recently announced with event partner Calvin Klein Collection a new art event premiering in 2009: Rob Pruitt’s The First Annual Art Awards at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Association with White Columns, to be held on Thursday, October 29, 2009.

Artist Rob Pruitt, whose conceptual practice is rooted in a pop sensibility and a playful critique of art world structures, has conceived the event as a performance-based artwork which follows the format of a Hollywood awards ceremony. The Art Awards will be an annual celebration of select individuals, exhibitions, and projects that have made a significant impact on the field of contemporary art during the previous year, specifically, for this year’s ceremony, from January 2008 to June 2009.

According to Mr. Pruitt, “This annual gesture will function as a community-building and philanthropic event for the Guggenheim Museum, White Columns and, in 2009, Studio in a School, while simultaneously mobilizing the wide ranging talents and energies of the international arts community, focusing on our mutual admiration and support for one another’s unique endeavors.” Mr. Pruitt continued, “With one eye on supporting our great institutions, and the other on injecting our community with a renewed sense of energy, spirit, and a dash of showbiz glamour, we are pleased to announce this very unique event.”

Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, stated, “As the impresario behind the First Annual Art Awards, Rob Pruitt presents a daring new event model injected with the humor that underscores his work. Pruitt’s orchestration of this performative piece—with the rotunda as center stage—is aligned with the Guggenheim’s mission to continue to engage and present contemporary artists.”

“The First Annual Art Awards, held at the Guggenheim Museum, will celebrate today’s most interesting and respected artists, in an entirely innovative way,” said Malcolm Carfrae, EVP Global Communications, Calvin Klein, Inc. “Calvin Klein, Inc. has always been a huge supporter of the arts and we are thrilled to be a part of such a groundbreaking event that celebrates the arts community and gives it the recognition it deserves.”

Pruitt has invited the Delusional Downtown Divas to preside over the event as Masters of Ceremonies, and Glenn O’Brien will step in as the Announcer, or, as Pruitt describes his role, as “the Voice of God.” An additional distinguished list of presenters will participate in distributing the awards, created by Pruitt to resemble a celebratory bucket of champagne that also serves as a fully functional lamp. The presenters will include Cecily Brown, Sofia Coppola, James Franco, Knight Landesman, Nate Lowman, and Mary-Kate Olsen, among others. Original music has been composed by Matthew Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces, who will perform at the event. Christine Muhlke, food editor of the New York Times Magazine, is curating the cuisine for the seated dinner.

Lifetime Achievement Awards, determined by Rob Pruitt along with organizing partners the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and White Columns, will be awarded to Joan Jonas and Kasper König. In addition, a group of more than four hundred art world professionals has been invited to form a Nominating Council that will select four nominees in nine categories that focus primarily on exhibitions and projects that took place over the preceding eighteen months (January 2008 to June 2009), in the United States, as well as one category recognizing an international exhibition. The Rob Pruitt Award is being decided solely by the artist. Of the following list of nominees, a larger group (including the Nominating Council) will establish the eventual winners, who will be announced at the live awards ceremony on October 29. The ten categories—in addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award—and the nominees for each category are:

Artist of the Year
• Louise Bourgeois
• Urs Fischer
• Dan Graham
• Mary Heilmann

Curator of the Year
• Klaus Biesenbach
• Daniel Birnbaum
• Connie Butler
• Massimiliano Gioni

Exhibitions Outside the United States
• Francis Bacon, Tate Britain, London
• Jeff Koons, Versailles, Château de Versailles, France
• Mike Kelley: Educational Complex Onwards: 1995–2008, Wiels Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels
• Wolfgang Tillmans: Lighter, Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin

Group Show of the Year, Gallery
• A Twilight Art, Harris Lieberman, New York
• Who’s Afraid of Jasper Johns? Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York
• Your Gold Teeth II, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York
• ZERO in New York, Sperone Westwater, New York

Group Show of the Year, Museum
• After Nature, New Museum, New York
• The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• The Quick and the Dead, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
• WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York

New Artist of the Year
• Elad Lassry
• Daniel McDonald
• Marlo Pascual
• Ryan Trecartin

The Rob Pruitt Award
• To be announced the evening of October 29, 2009

Solo Show of the Year, Gallery
• Cindy Sherman, Metro Pictures, New York
• Manzoni: A Retrospective, Gagosian Gallery, New York
• Paul Sharits, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York
• Picasso: Mosqueteros, Gagosian Gallery, New York

Solo Show of the Year, Museum
• Dan Graham: Beyond, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
• Lawrence Weiner: As Far as the Eye Can See, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
• Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton, New Museum, New York
• Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and Museum of Modern Art, New York

Writer of the Year
• Tim Griffin
• John Kelsey
• Walter Robinson
• Jerry Saltz