Tag: space race

Exhibitions

Exhibition: Dreamworlds and Catastrophes

Recommended by ESPIONART in 2015, the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, New Jersey is home to a vast collection of nonconformist Soviet art that was secretly amassed and brought to the United States by the late American economist, Norton Dodge. The latest exhibition at the museum focuses on fantastical and nightmarish scenes conjured up by Soviet artists at the height of the Cold War, inspired by the … Continue reading Exhibition: Dreamworlds and Catastrophes

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Exhibition of the Month

Exhibition of the Month: Beyond Zero

For the rest of this month, the dreams of the Soviet space programme are alive in London. In the exhibition Beyond Zero the Calvert 22 gallery explores how Russian artists have been inspired by man’s evolving engagement with the cosmos. The works featured in the exhibition date from the 1930s to the present day, showing how artists have continued to challenge the conventions of time … Continue reading Exhibition of the Month: Beyond Zero

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What & Where

What & Where: Atomium

What: The Atomium Where: Square de l’Atomium, B-1020 Brussels, Belgium In northern Brussels a structure named ‘Europe’s most bizarre building’ is a permanent reminder of the Cold War’s utopian vision of the future. The Atomium was constructed for Expo 58, the Brussels World’s Fair of 1958, and was originally intended only to survive the months of the Fair. But such was the popularity of this … Continue reading What & Where: Atomium

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Yuri Gagarin: The Soviet Superman

When Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin completed an orbit of the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft on 12 April 1961, his life would never be the same again. As the first human to travel into outer space, marking a triumphant victory in the Soviet’s ‘space race’ with the United States, Gagarin was transformed overnight into an international celebrity. The cosmonaut’s likeness would soon appear in … Continue reading Yuri Gagarin: The Soviet Superman

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One Giant Leap for Canine

This weekend we remember a very brave little dog who had the questionable honour of becoming the first animal to orbit the Earth. On 3 November 1957 Laika (‘Barker’ in Russian) shot into space on board the Soviet spacecraft, Sputnik 2, in an experiment to test the feasibility of human spaceflight. When the stray mongrel was picked off the streets of Moscow her fate was … Continue reading One Giant Leap for Canine

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Opening the Road to the Stars

On this day in 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, into space. The American public was shocked and terrified by this show of Soviet technological superiority, leading President Eisenhower to declare a ‘Sputnik Crisis’ in the United States. Meanwhile in the USSR there were widespread celebrations, with propaganda posters exclaiming: ‘Soviet man, be proud. You have opened the road to … Continue reading Opening the Road to the Stars

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