Planetarium Mural
Below is the biggest, most important project I have worked on to date. This project combined my love for mythology and art with a new love of Astronomy. This project drastically helped me improve as an artist and helped shape me into who I am now. This project, sadly, is no longer on display, as the Planetarium it was in no longer stands.
For context, I will give you a little history on the mural. The Edwin Clark Schouweiler Memorial Planetarium was established in 1969. The Planetarium’s original black light mural is displayed as the before images. What information could be found about the original mural is that the first director of the planetarium commissioned students to paint a mural in the newly built planetarium. Not much was found about these students or the year when the mural was originally painted. When I was commissioned to repaint the mural, part of the design was missing because of a new door that was added to the planetarium. After repainting the designs were missing, I worked on updating the existing designs, not only to match the style of the repainted designs, but also because parts of the walls needed repairs.
It was agreed that we should date the entire mural with position of the planets. There was some discussion on which date to use, but it was finally decided to place them in the spots they were during the Transit of Venus of 2012. This is most obvious in Taurus, where you can see the sun with a small Venus going across it. All the planets are marked with their appropriate planet symbol. Included are the Sun, Moon, the planets and one dwarf planet. By adding the planets, it gave us yet another teaching aid. We were able to demonstrate how the planets move along the ecliptic. By including this addition, we were able to use the mural as a teaching tool as well as it being an intriguing design.
I have placed all the images into a grid directly after this text. After that is the artist statement and then each design with an explanation showing the before and after images. At the very end is the entire mural as a panorama. For scale, the largest design, Virgo was about 6 and a half feet long.
Artist Statement
When I was recreating the mural, I was inspired by classical factors such as Greek design and star charts as well as the original composition. I looked at the individual works and modified them to fit these inspirations.
Initially, my goals for this project where limited to addressing line quality and anatomical issues. As I continued work, I was given the opportunity to redesign some aspects of the composition completely. In the end, I feel that my efforts have both maintained the essence of the original work while allowing me to add my own artistic flare. The new work is eye catching and receives many compliments.
The medium for this work is black light paint lit from above with black lights. This is a medium that can be seen in white, and natural light as well. By giving the composition such options, it has obtained a dual perspective for the viewer. The first, a vibrant, eye catching feel to mimic the night sky alight with stars. The second, a softer background note. Still visible, the designs find a clearer purchase on the black background and allow the viewer to examine them in a less intense setting.