Vermont Arts Council Presents Pat Musick, Astronaut Jerry Carr
MONTPELIER, VT—The Vermont Arts Council’s Spotlight Gallery presents Exploring Technology: An Artist and an Astronaut Look at the Future, a virtual exhibit from artist Pat Musick and astronaut Jerry Carr.
 
The exhibit was conceived when artist Pat Musick lay on the top of a hill on Nov. 16, 1973 and watched Skylab 4 arc across the skies above her. Six years later she would marry the Skylab 4 commander Carr, generating forty years of creativity as Musick responded to the unique world view that the space program gave to us.
 
“In 1990, 50 cosmonauts and astronauts were invited to celebrate Earth Day at the United Nations,” said Musick describing the exhibit’s inspiration. “Six of them were asked to use their native language to describe their first view of earth from space. The response was stunning. They all said the same thing. They used the same words to describe the same object far beyond them.”

"Thought Streams #4" by Pat Musick
It took Musick 25 years to generate the images that would reflect this moment. Carr assisted in the engineering and fabrication of the work. Carr passed away on Aug. 26, 2020 at age 88.
 
“The space program was arguably mankind’s most creative effort of the 20th century. Spin offs from digital computers opened vast new vistas in science and technology. From the lunar rover, which Carr helped design, came the electric wheelchair, and that was just the beginning. Propelled by a superordinate goal to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, men and women worked incredible hours with self-sacrificing dedication. Their efforts stand out in history as a model for what can be achieved by such a united spirit. It can serve as an example today as the world struggles to thwart a pandemic, redress centuries of discrimination, battle climate change, and bring peace to our fragile home,” Musick said.
 
Art from the collection can be viewed from May 3 – Aug. 31 in the Art Council’s online Spotlight Gallery at https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/patmusick-exploringtechnology
 
A virtual artist talk with Musick will be held at 7 p.m. on June 17. Register for the talk here.
 
The exhibit is curated by Dominique Gustin and Desmond Peeples and is part of the Vermont Curators Group Project: 2020 Vision: Reflecting on a World-Changing Year.
 
About the Spotlight Gallery
The Vermont Arts Council Spotlight Gallery – now virtual – features rotating exhibits by Vermont artists. The online gallery affords a wider range of artistic disciplines, “always on” access, and new ways to connect with the work through virtual studio tours, recorded artist/curator talks and more.
 
The Vermont Arts Council envisions a Vermont where all people have access to the arts and creativity in their lives, education, and communities. Engagement with the arts transforms individuals, connects us more deeply to each other, energizes the economy, and sustains the vibrant cultural landscape that makes Vermont a great place to live. Since 1965, the Council has been the state's primary provider of funding, advocacy, and information for the arts in Vermont. Learn more at vermontartscouncil.org

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CONTACT:
Catherine Crawley, Vermont Arts Council Communications Director, ccrawley@vermontartscouncil.org, 802-828-5422