Beyond: Visions of Planetary Landscapes

August 9 through October 5, 2008
Location: Fawick Gallery
Michael Benson’s artistic photographic renderings of space are sure to amaze. Looking at the dazzling images of deep space that make up the exhibition Beyond: Visions of Planetary Landscapes, it is almost as if you are viewing the galaxy from out the window of a spacecraft.

The Art and Science of Space
Filmmaker, journalist and photographer Michael Benson spent years collecting striking images of the planets, and their moons and landscapes, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) archives. Mostly collected over the course of 40 years by unmanned interplanetary probes such as Magellan, Voyager 1 and 2, and the Viking Landers, these images bloom in Benson’s hands; offering us a uniquely beautiful, yet comprehensive, look at our solar system.

The Exhibit
Enjoy 35 of Benson’s large-scale award-winning images: take in views that include stormy Neptune (courtesy of the Voyager spacecraft), a volcanic plume on Jupiter’s moon IO (taken during the Galileo mission), and Mars’ cratered surface (captured by the Viking Orbiter). Or spend a moment observing the surfaces of Mercury and the Sun and wonder at the sight of Saturn’s famous rings. Each image is a stunning detailed portrait with both scientific and aesthetic appeal. The exhibition is organized into categories, including the Inner Solar System, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and educational text accompanies each photograph.