By Nikki Vafai[1]
Since time immemorial, space has been a point of inspiration and perplexity to those who glance upon it. Artists have gazed up and depicted the removed yet piercingly luminous stars and enigmatic celestial bodies. With the advancement of technology, and as man entered this uncharted space, so too did art follow. If art exists everywhere in the public realm, from street art to the metaverse, why can there not be art in space? And there is. You might just not know about it yet.
How does art come to occupy space?[2] While space art exists on Earth and depicts space, there is also celestial art that exists beyond Earth, whether that be on other planets or modular systems.[3] As of present, the art beyond Earth has included art that is designed to be realized or fully formed in space, art that is sent to space attached to space hardware[4], art that is released into space, and art that is made in space.
We can categorize the types of art beyond Earth into three broader categories: art that is sent to modular systems beyond Earth, art that is destined for celestial bodies and their orbits, and art that is sent into interstellar space.[5] The law that governs art in space, artists’ intellectual property rights, and cultural heritage protection is quite ambiguous and many of the international principles were developed half a century ago. Therefore, the rules that attach are usually agreed upon in more narrow bilateral agreements called Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between states and parties. Meanwhile, the laws that do govern this space are continuously developing as more artists inspired by this frontier begin to explore innovative ways to incorporate art into scientific exploration and pursuits.
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