Andrew Yee
March 2nd 06, 03:40 PM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
2 March 2006
Winning postcards from Venus chosen
Venus, as the goddess of beauty, has been celebrated in art and myth for
millennia. Now, The Planetary Society and ESA celebrate the imagined
rugged beauty of the planet's natural landscape with the winning entries
in the 'Postcards from Venus' art contest in coordination with ESA's Venus
Express mission, en route toward a rendezvous with Venus on 11 April 2006.
Winners were selected in two age groups, youth and adult, with the Grand
Prize winner being Tatianna Cwick, age 17, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA.
Cwick has won a trip for herself and a guardian to the European Space
Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, when Venus Express arrives
at its destination.
"The title of my artwork is Ominous Beauty," said Cwick. "I think this
captures the essence of the planet Venus, with its threatening volcanic
environment and unique splendour."
Cwick added that her father taught her most of what she knows about the
planets, and that he suggested she enter the art contest because it "could
combine both of our interests -- his love for space and my love for art."
Yoo-Hong Sun, age 9, of South Korea was the first place winner in the
youth category and Alejandra Gonzalez Quintana of Spain won first place
for adults.
The Venus Express mission will be the first spacecraft in more than ten
years to visit our nearest planetary neighbour. Shrouded under a dense
haze, Venus is a world steeped in mystery. Often called our 'sister
planet', Venus is nearly identical to Earth in size and mass, yet its
surface temperature is hotter than a kitchen oven because the thick
atmosphere traps the Sun's heat.
Instruments on board Venus Express will study the planet's atmosphere and
what drives the planet's high-speed winds. An on board camera will capture
images of the surface by peering through 'windows' in the enveloping haze.
The Venus Express Art Contest theme -- 'Postcards from Venus' -- invited
contest entrants to imagine the surface of Venus from an above-ground
perspective, a bird's eye view of a mysterious world whose volcano-riddled
surface contains few impact craters. With a landscape that included
mountain ranges, plains covered in lava-rock and volcanoes, the artists
had a wide spectrum of imagery to present in their paintings.
The Planetary Society received hundreds of entries from more than 40
nations around the world, from Austria to Venezuela. Artists were asked to
depict Venus in an artwork the size and shape of a postcard (approximately
10 by 15 centimetres).
Entries were reviewed by a panel of judges selected by The Planetary
Society, who judged artwork by the articulation of the contest theme,
creativity, and artistic merit. For submissions by artists younger than 18
years of age, the age of the artist was taken into consideration.
Venus researcher and renowned science author, David Grinspoon, was one of
the judges of the art contest. Grinspoon commented, "I was just so
impressed with the diversity and inventiveness of the artwork submitted.
To me it bespeaks of a vast global awareness and excitement about
imagining and exploring a neighbouring world that is so like our own in
some ways and so completely alien in others."
Additional winners in the youth category include second place winner
Upamanyu Moitra, age 12, India; and third place, Nabila Nindya Alifia
Putri, age 17, Indonesia. Jason Tetlak of the USA won second place in the
adult category, and two artists tied for third place in adults: Alessandro
Migliaccio of Italy and Edgar Tibori of Germany.
A graphic artist employed by the European Space Agency will select
artworks from among the entries for inclusion in a collage to be exhibited
when Venus Express arrives at Venus.
Two months or more after the arrival of Venus Express, another judging
panel will review the entries to select two Special Prizes. The Special
Prizes (one Youth and one Adult) will be awarded for that artwork which
most closely resembles a view of Venus returned from the Venus Express
spacecraft.
All winners' artworks will be displayed at ESA's European Space Operations
Centre during the Venus Express arrival at Venus, which will occur on 11
April 2006.
For more information, please contact:
Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin
Tel: +49 6151 90 2696
E-mail: Jocelyne.Landeau-Constantin @ esa.int
Related links
* Postcards from Venus winners
http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/postcards_from_venus/
* The Planetary Society
http://planetary.org
* Looking at Venus
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Venus_Express/index.html
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMHXRMVGJE_index_1.html ]
http://www.esa.int
2 March 2006
Winning postcards from Venus chosen
Venus, as the goddess of beauty, has been celebrated in art and myth for
millennia. Now, The Planetary Society and ESA celebrate the imagined
rugged beauty of the planet's natural landscape with the winning entries
in the 'Postcards from Venus' art contest in coordination with ESA's Venus
Express mission, en route toward a rendezvous with Venus on 11 April 2006.
Winners were selected in two age groups, youth and adult, with the Grand
Prize winner being Tatianna Cwick, age 17, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA.
Cwick has won a trip for herself and a guardian to the European Space
Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, when Venus Express arrives
at its destination.
"The title of my artwork is Ominous Beauty," said Cwick. "I think this
captures the essence of the planet Venus, with its threatening volcanic
environment and unique splendour."
Cwick added that her father taught her most of what she knows about the
planets, and that he suggested she enter the art contest because it "could
combine both of our interests -- his love for space and my love for art."
Yoo-Hong Sun, age 9, of South Korea was the first place winner in the
youth category and Alejandra Gonzalez Quintana of Spain won first place
for adults.
The Venus Express mission will be the first spacecraft in more than ten
years to visit our nearest planetary neighbour. Shrouded under a dense
haze, Venus is a world steeped in mystery. Often called our 'sister
planet', Venus is nearly identical to Earth in size and mass, yet its
surface temperature is hotter than a kitchen oven because the thick
atmosphere traps the Sun's heat.
Instruments on board Venus Express will study the planet's atmosphere and
what drives the planet's high-speed winds. An on board camera will capture
images of the surface by peering through 'windows' in the enveloping haze.
The Venus Express Art Contest theme -- 'Postcards from Venus' -- invited
contest entrants to imagine the surface of Venus from an above-ground
perspective, a bird's eye view of a mysterious world whose volcano-riddled
surface contains few impact craters. With a landscape that included
mountain ranges, plains covered in lava-rock and volcanoes, the artists
had a wide spectrum of imagery to present in their paintings.
The Planetary Society received hundreds of entries from more than 40
nations around the world, from Austria to Venezuela. Artists were asked to
depict Venus in an artwork the size and shape of a postcard (approximately
10 by 15 centimetres).
Entries were reviewed by a panel of judges selected by The Planetary
Society, who judged artwork by the articulation of the contest theme,
creativity, and artistic merit. For submissions by artists younger than 18
years of age, the age of the artist was taken into consideration.
Venus researcher and renowned science author, David Grinspoon, was one of
the judges of the art contest. Grinspoon commented, "I was just so
impressed with the diversity and inventiveness of the artwork submitted.
To me it bespeaks of a vast global awareness and excitement about
imagining and exploring a neighbouring world that is so like our own in
some ways and so completely alien in others."
Additional winners in the youth category include second place winner
Upamanyu Moitra, age 12, India; and third place, Nabila Nindya Alifia
Putri, age 17, Indonesia. Jason Tetlak of the USA won second place in the
adult category, and two artists tied for third place in adults: Alessandro
Migliaccio of Italy and Edgar Tibori of Germany.
A graphic artist employed by the European Space Agency will select
artworks from among the entries for inclusion in a collage to be exhibited
when Venus Express arrives at Venus.
Two months or more after the arrival of Venus Express, another judging
panel will review the entries to select two Special Prizes. The Special
Prizes (one Youth and one Adult) will be awarded for that artwork which
most closely resembles a view of Venus returned from the Venus Express
spacecraft.
All winners' artworks will be displayed at ESA's European Space Operations
Centre during the Venus Express arrival at Venus, which will occur on 11
April 2006.
For more information, please contact:
Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin
Tel: +49 6151 90 2696
E-mail: Jocelyne.Landeau-Constantin @ esa.int
Related links
* Postcards from Venus winners
http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/postcards_from_venus/
* The Planetary Society
http://planetary.org
* Looking at Venus
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Venus_Express/index.html
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMHXRMVGJE_index_1.html ]