Blog 23: Astronomy and the Harvard Art Museums

This week, we are going to explore the intersection of Astronomy and another field because while Astronomy is the study of the universe, it is not the only subject to study in the universe. Last semester, I talked about Astronomy and Mystery-Solving. This semester I started a job as a tour guide at the Harvard Art Museums (HAM). At HAM, tour guides have to design their own tours based on a central theme connecting 3-5 objects on display in the museums. Themes vary from political to religious to technical. For this blog post I am going to try to propose an astronomy-themed tour based on our collection. All images and information about the objects can be found at the museum's website.

Admittedly, astronomy is not one of the most centralizing themes in art history. However, it has been a constant part of our lives before, throughout, and long after history. The night sky has always been round us, both inciting our imaginations and giving us the tools to understand the world we live in. The oldest astronomy-themed object on this tour is the Long-Case Musical Clock, created by the Dutch craftsman Otto Van Meurs in 1750. The grand, imposing clock sits in a seconds floor gallery of the museum, still keeping accurate time - with a little adjusting from conservationists every set number of years. That is not all the clock does; it also tracks tides, the current position of the sun and moon, gives the date, and plays one of dozens of charming tunes every half hour. Mechanical clocks like these are one of the first iterations of modern computers. This "computer" in particular, heavily showcases society's uses for the skies above. Our entire conception of time, of calendars and schedules, of past, present, and future is based on the motion of stars and planets. We can see that in this piece, a representation of years of evolution of the clock and calendar.

Yet this piece isn't purely functional. It is highly symbolic, covered in classical allusions such as Atlas carrying Earth at the very top of the clock. This piece, used to show the high societal status of its owner, is inherently intertwined with modern cultural norms. This culminates in a symbolic, functional, and aesthetic piece that dominates any room it is in.

More than a century later, Paul Manship (considered the most prominent American Art Deco artist) created about a dozen celestial spheres as a preparation for a grand memorial to Woodrow Wilson. This historically influential tool was also highly functional, allowing for navigation, charting, and seasonal predictions. Even today, it is our foremost model of the night sky.

Celestial Sphere - Paul Manship

However, this piece itself is also not purely functional, it is not even very useful. Its chief function is to memorialize a political figure and does so with many cultural symbols. The constellations and base figures are a mix of Chinese, Babylonian, Assyrian, Latin, and Greek zodiacs to emphasize the international political harmony the artist wanted a viewer to associate with Woodrow Wilson. Once again, Astronomy is used here as a seamless part of history and modern society, and not just for one culture, but for many. 

There are definitely cultural levels of astronomy that move beyond the scientific into the even more cultural and aesthetic. For example, the second floor has a beautiful painting with a puzzling composition that signifies the coming of the dawn, the daily transition from dark to light and a pagan goddess. The astronomical phenomena has become a personified deity, with her own gossip, lovers, and enemies.

The Dawn - John LaFarge

Even Christian religions have used Astronomy as cultural markers. In this stained glass window, angels are represented by the morning stars in a reference to a biblical passage. The stars symbolized heavenly light, purity, and truth.

When the Morning Stars Sang Together and All the Sons of God Shouted for Joy

Even in contemporary art today, these themes persist. De Kooning's piece, Untitled (The Cow Jumps Over the Moon), plays upon a common cultural anchor, a childhood nursery rhyme. From there, De Kooning's questions a viewer's perspective of traditional art and accepted ways of portraying cows and emotions alike. 

Willem de Kooning - Untitled (The Cow Jumps Over the Moon)

Even in art's evolution, Astronomy is used as a grounding point. The night sky has become irrevocably intertwined with our perception of the world, and what better way is there to portray our world than through art?