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Launching art that's out of this world [Newcastle Journal (England)](Newcastle Journal (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SINCE Neil Armstrong took that first small step 45 years ago it seems man's ongoing fascination with the moon has never waned. And so, the opening of Baltic's latest exhibition is expected to attract a lot of interest. They Used To Call It The Moon is a group show, with artists from across the world - including four from the North East - all fully focused on our nearest satellite. Not only does it deliver a dose of black and white reality in striking Nasa photographs of the actual lunar surface but it lets loose the artistic imagination with, for instance, Stanley Kubrick's colourful flight of fancy in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The sci-fi epic with its psychedelic journey through space caused a sensation when it came out in 1968 and, having reached cult status now, its scripts and set designs on show here are likely to delight film fans. On loan from the Stanley Kubrick Archive, the display includes the late director's vision of the lunar landscape long before CGI wizardry and his dialogue with sci-fi writer Arthur C Clarke who inspired the film. The exhibition's focal point is a huge silver sphere, which looks metal but is an inflatable, that would not be amiss on a Kubrick set. It's actually the real-deal: Trevor Paglen's sculpture, over seven metres high, is designed to be placed into low-earth orbit and reflect sunlight from space to the earth's surface. The artist developed the prototype with aerospace engineers more used to working on military projects. This is all about art and he hopes to see it in orbit in the next few years. Appearing as a moving light in the sky, it would burn up on re-entry. The exhibition's title refers to how the moon is now being looked at differently, says Baltic creator Alessandro Vincentelli, amid the new Space Race and political debates around the future use of interplanetary energy resources and "the idea of mining other planets". Expect a mix of past and present, real and fictional, utopian and dystopian views from artists as far afield as Croatia, the US and Pakistan plus a mix of film, photography, drawing, sculpture and collage. It ranges from 1870s ideas of what the moon surface is life - glimpses through telescopes wrongly suggesting volcanic peaks - to 28 real Nasa photographs, edited by Michael Light from lunar geological survey images made by Apollo astronauts from 1965-72. Then there's local artist Liam Murray's portrayal of all 12 astronauts who have set foot on the moon to Katie Paterson's piano playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata which was translated into Morse code and sent to the moon by wireless communication code. The moon, used as a passive satellite, could reflect only part of the music back to earth and it's retranslated here with occasional gaps and duff notes. Truly out of this world. Allesandro said: "Artists as well as filmmakers have always been fascinated by the moon." The show runs until January 11. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |