PLANETARY PORTRAITS ON DISPLAY FEB. 25 - APRIL 12
Posted on February 14, 2011
The views of the solar system that one can see
while standing here on Earth are often impressive, if not mind-blowing. But
from the inner solar system to its outer reaches, the closer and more detailed
views of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the other planets that have been
achieved during the Space Age show unparalleled beauty and visions difficult to
fathom. This otherworldly view, collected during 40 years
of robotic space missions and then processed into breathtaking images, is the
subject of the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition Beyond: Visions
of Planetary Landscapes, on
display from Feb. 25 to April 12 in the Manderino Gallery. The exhibit’s astonishing views of the solar
system’s planets and their moons come primarily from NASA and European Space
Agency missions. Artist Michael Benson mines planetary databases for his source
material, then pulls together the images to create seamless photographs of
unprecedented clarity and realism. Throughout the process, Benson strives to
stay true to the natural and breathtaking reality of space. “My goal was to locate, digitally process and print
some of the most extraordinary sights ever captured,” Benson says. Beyond shows that familiar geological
formations and the atmospheric disturbances that take place on Earth also can
be found on neighboring planets: the erupting volcanoes of Sicily find their
counterpart in the lava eruptions of Jupiter’s moon Io; the moon’s deep craters
are displayed alongside the “cantaloupe” terrain of Neptune’s moon Triton; the
stormy clouds of Greenland can be seen alongside the “dust devils” of Mars. The
show’s compositions include rare pictures of the sand dunes on Mars, storms on
Neptune and the fiery eruptions of the sun. Beyond: Visions of Planetary Landscapes was
created by Michael Benson and organized for travel by the Smithsonian
Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). About SITES About
the Artist See the Exhibition at Cal U
SITES has
been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with
millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 50 years. SITES
connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through exhibitions about
art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play.
Michael Benson is a journalist and award-winning filmmaker (Predictions
of Fire, 1995) whose work has been published in The New York Times, The New
Yorker, The Atlantic and The Washington Post, among many other publications. Benson’s award-winning book Beyond:
Visions of the Interplanetary Probes (Abrams, 2003) includes a forward by
science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. A paperback edition of the book was
released in 2008.
All
SITES exhibitions at Cal U are open to the public. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4
p.m. Monday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday; 8
a.m.-noon Friday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday; and 2-6 p.m. Sunday. To discuss group
tours or field trips, call exhibitions coordinator Walter Czekaj at
724-938-5244 or send e-mail to czekaj@calu.edu.
