Constellation of space imaginaries 1 : domination, fiction and possible worlds

research
2019

This research focuses on the process of construction of a space imagery through the cosmos representations disseminated and produced by the space agencies and by artists. Via the research question « do space agencies build space through the images they disseminate? «, it is a question of analyzing the act of creation of this imagery, its spaces and temporalities. What is the place of these images in the construction of the outer space, how do agencies use them and for what purposes? How are these representations then received by the general public and used, diverted by the artists? So many questions that, I hope, will get to give a vision, partial and thematic, of what space is today.

This work revolves around 5 chapters. The first two chapters feature a history and space imagery before and after 1957, before and after the beginnings of the space conquest. The third one questions the construction of a dominant spatial imagery, the one created by the Western public space agencies. The fourth part addresses the question of the fictionality of images, through the notion of possible fictional worlds. Finally, the last chapter is devoted to the case study, the spatial imagery of 4 artists: Tomàs Saraceno, Aleksandra Mir, Rachel Dedman and Dragan Živadinov.