New Delhi: There is no piece of art more beautiful than the Earth itself and with the kind of view the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have, they will surely vouch for it.
However, an 'out of the world' artwork had never been created – and we mean literally – but a 3D printer inside the ISS has made it possible.
While many astronauts who have been a part of the ISS missions have sketched and photographed the beauty of the view the Earth presents to them and many artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Damien Hirst have created works of art that have subsequently been sent to space, nothing has really been created in outer space.
Well, hold your breath, because a 3D printer aboard the ISS has created a sculpture that represents human laughter, which has become the first ever piece of art to be produced outside Earth!
The 'laugh star' is a 3D-printed representation of sound waves generated from human laughter and is a part of a project called #Laugh.
The work was conceptualised by Israeli contemporary artist Eyal Gever, who is passionate about using art as a medium for social impact, that connect people from different backgrounds and nationalities.
Collaborating with Gever was the California-based company Made In Space, which owns and operates the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), a gravity independent 3D printer, using which, the sculpture was created.
The reason behind why 'laughter' was chosen as the theme for the first piece of art to be made in space is also heart-warming. Gever thought it fitting that the first ever piece of art created in space be the human emotion/expression that represents what humanity can achieve with positivity.
Similar to art, laughter is a human expression which is universally understood.
"We live in epic times, where continuous disruption and rapid change exists against a backdrop of extremely volatile cultural shifts constantly challenging our human conscience," said Gever.
"A Laugh Star floating in space, above all our heads, is my attempt to create a contemporary metaphor for the hanging 'Sword Of Damocles,' a reminder that the beauty of human-life is so fragile," he said.
The project #Laugh kicked off with the launch of a mobile app that recorded sounds of laughter from individuals and converted the sound waves into a digital 3D model, or "laugh star."
Users were then encouraged to view, listen to and vote on their favourite laugh star. Over 100,000 people from around the world created their own laugh stars.
The winner of the competition, Naughtia Jane Stanko of the US, had her laugh star 3D printed aboard the ISS.
"The earliest cave paintings were of human hands which were a way of proclaiming and celebrating the presence of humanity, #Laugh is the 21st century version of that - a mathematically-accurate encapsulation of human laughter, simply floating through space, waiting to be discovered," said Gever.
"It's important for the world to see that technology and art are not independent of one another," said Andrew Rush, President and CEO of Made In Space, which owns and operates the AMF.
"We've enjoyed being a part of this project, and hope that it communicates to the world that innovation and creativity are the driving forces behind humanity's future in space," said Rush.
Check out the images below:
(Image courtesy: Made in Space)
(With PTI inputs)
