AirSpace Revisited: Art Decade
Summary
This Airspace episode explores the NASA Art Program, which commissioned artists from the 1960s to early 2000s to document space exploration. Hosts discuss how figures like Norman Rockwell and Jamie Wyeth received unique access to launch sites and control rooms, capturing the era's wonder. The conversation highlights the program’s evolution, its eventual end in 2010, and the Smithsonian’s efforts to display this vast collection in new galleries.
Topics discussed
Introduction to the NASA Art Program and museum collection
Origins: James Webb, Bruce Stevenson, and program launch
Famous artists like Warhol, Rockwell, and the Wyeths
Artist access, secrecy, and Jamie Wyeth's launch experience
Diversity issues and the transfer of art to the museum
Jamie Wyeth's depiction of the sterile 1960s control room
Evie Day's 2006 experience and shifting NASA culture
Evie Day's 'Wheel of Optimism' sculpture from rover tire
Exhibitions, publications, and the program's end in 2010
Legacy, current displays, and future gallery plans
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