Martin Sjardijn
Encyclopedia
Martin Sjardijn is a painter, sculptor, digital artist and conceptual artist, who has created the Weightless Sculpture Project.
, The Netherlands. He Studied Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art and for some years Cultural Sciences and Philosophy. After painting for many years, he started in 1985 the Weightless Sculpture Project. In 1990 he began to use the Internet
to work with virtual reality, such as head-mounted display
s and Datagloves with tactile
feedback, at The Technical University in Delft.
Since 1998 he has been developing an Art and Educational Project using interactive 3D technology with vrml
in collaboration with
the Groninger Museum
in the Netherlands. His main project is Weightless Sculpture, which he began in 1985 with the concept "
A Line in Outer Space - Visible from earth - with the naked eye - At clear nights."
This statement was sent to press-agencies worldwide in 1985. Christo was the first artist who gave his reaction in a letter. Soon after Harald Szeeman also sent a letter.
Sjardijn made an animation at the Digistar Planetarium Computer in the Omniversum in The Hague
and exhibited in the Municipal Museum of The Hague.
His latest concept is called ArtSpaceLab, which contains a virtual exhibition,
a database and a proposal for an artproject inside the International Space Station
. The virtual Coop Himmelb(l)au Pavilion gives access to a database, containing a big collection of
free software and (video)tutorials as used by Sjardijn.
This would use the device of a highly reflective grit, to be launched into space using standard piggyback payload technology, and brought into a 30.000 km/h sun-synchronous orbit
at a height of 200-400 kilometers. The grit is then spread out over a 100 meter long and 1 meter wide area so that a clearly recognizable line will be visible with the naked eye at clear nights during 15 minute intervals at every point on earth.
The precedent for this is from the Belgian painter Paul Van Hoeydonck
who created "Fallen Astronaut
", an aluminium statue about 8.5 cm long that was sent to the moon with the Apollo 15
mission. It is not a weightless work of art because of the gravity on the moon.
Life and work
He was born in The HagueThe Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, The Netherlands. He Studied Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art and for some years Cultural Sciences and Philosophy. After painting for many years, he started in 1985 the Weightless Sculpture Project. In 1990 he began to use the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to work with virtual reality, such as head-mounted display
Head-mounted display
A head-mounted display or helmet mounted display, both abbreviated HMD, is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet, that has a small display optic in front of one or each eye .- Overview :...
s and Datagloves with tactile
feedback, at The Technical University in Delft.
Since 1998 he has been developing an Art and Educational Project using interactive 3D technology with vrml
VRML
VRML is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind...
in collaboration with
the Groninger Museum
Groninger Museum
The Groninger Museum is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Groningen, Netherlands.-Background:Although not as well known as other Dutch institutions of fine art, the Groninger Museum was founded in 1894...
in the Netherlands. His main project is Weightless Sculpture, which he began in 1985 with the concept "
A Line in Outer Space - Visible from earth - with the naked eye - At clear nights."
This statement was sent to press-agencies worldwide in 1985. Christo was the first artist who gave his reaction in a letter. Soon after Harald Szeeman also sent a letter.
Sjardijn made an animation at the Digistar Planetarium Computer in the Omniversum in The Hague
and exhibited in the Municipal Museum of The Hague.
His latest concept is called ArtSpaceLab, which contains a virtual exhibition,
a database and a proposal for an artproject inside the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. The virtual Coop Himmelb(l)au Pavilion gives access to a database, containing a big collection of
free software and (video)tutorials as used by Sjardijn.
Weightless sculptures
"Weightless sculptures" are a type of kinetic sculpture. Martin Sjardijn proposed the first Weightless sculpture as a conceptual artwork in 1985 as a line in outer space to be an extension of the manmade satellite. He started the Weightless Sculpture Project with the statement:- A line in outerspace visible from earth with the naked eye at clear nights.
This would use the device of a highly reflective grit, to be launched into space using standard piggyback payload technology, and brought into a 30.000 km/h sun-synchronous orbit
Sun-synchronous orbit
A Sun-synchronous orbit is a geocentric orbit which combines altitude and inclination in such a way that an object on that orbit ascends or descends over any given point of the Earth's surface at the same local mean solar time. The surface illumination angle will be nearly the same every time...
at a height of 200-400 kilometers. The grit is then spread out over a 100 meter long and 1 meter wide area so that a clearly recognizable line will be visible with the naked eye at clear nights during 15 minute intervals at every point on earth.
The precedent for this is from the Belgian painter Paul Van Hoeydonck
Paul Van Hoeydonck
Paul Van Hoeydonck was a Belgian printmaker and painter, he studied both archeology and art history in Antwerp, Belgium. His first one man exhibition took place in that city in 1952. During the following years van Hoeydonck both lived and worked in Belgium and in the United States...
who created "Fallen Astronaut
Fallen Astronaut
Fallen Astronaut is an 8.5 cm aluminium sculpture of an astronaut in a spacesuit which commemorates astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the advancement of space exploration...
", an aluminium statue about 8.5 cm long that was sent to the moon with the Apollo 15
Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
mission. It is not a weightless work of art because of the gravity on the moon.