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NASA Debuts 50th
Anniversary Art Book
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To celebrate NASA's 50th anniversary in October, the agency is
releasing the book "NASA/ART - 50
Years of Exploration," a historic collection of almost a half-century of
space-inspired artwork.
In 1962, four years after NASA was founded, Administrator James E. Webb
recognized space exploration would make a profound cultural impact, in
addition to advancing science and technology. He established the NASA
Art Program to commission pieces from prominent artists that would
illustrate
and interpret the space agency's missions.
Since that time, the art program has enjoyed the participation of such
luminaries as Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, James Wyeth, Nam
June Paik, Patti LaBelle, William Wegman, Mike and Doug Starn, and Annie
Leibovitz.
"Through the NASA Art Program, artists have been given an inside glimpse
into the missions and programs which make up the space agency," said
Bert Ulrich, the program's curator at NASA headquarters in Washington.
"Through their imaginations, artists have shared an entirely new
interpretation of the NASA story with the public."
In "NASA/ART - 50 Years of Exploration," co-authors James
Dean and Ulrich present 150 full color illustrations with essays by
astronaut Michael Collins, curator Tom D. Crouch and novelist Ray
Bradbury. The book, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, will
be available in October. It is a companion to the Smithsonian traveling
art exhibition drawn from the collections of NASA and the National Air
and Space Museum, which features 73 works by some of America's leading
artists.
For more information about the book, "NASA/ART - 50 Years of
Exploration," visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/NASAart_book/
Exhibition descriptions and tour schedules are available at:
http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/nasa_art/main.htm
For more information about NASA's 50th Anniversary, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/50th
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