Articles
Space is the Place
What skills does an aspiring artist need? A painter requires a sense of proportion. A sculptor must understand the relative size and shape of objects. Composers capture the rhythm of life, how bodies push and pull one another. Filmmakers play with time, collapsing eons into a frame of cinematic space. Anyone hoping to sharpen their eye, tune their ear or broaden their mind should head toward the recently renovated Griffith Observatory. Or rather, make your reservations, then head toward the Griffith Observatory.
Since 1935, the Griffith Observatory has offered unparalleled vistas of the stars above (and the lights below!) the City of the Angels. Griffith Observatory’s art deco architecture has provided a dramatic backdrop for feature films like Rebel Without a Cause, The Rocketeer, and even the otherwise forgettable, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. After four years of construction and $93 million in improvements, the Griffith Observatory looks better than ever.
So what’s new? An
entire subterranean wing has been added, featuring expanded exhibits. I was captivated by the large models of the
planets (arranged in size comparison to each other). 
Upstairs, the Samuel Oschin Planetarium
offers stylish reclining seats, perfect for stargazing. The planetarium show features a new shaping
story, speculating on the origins of the universe. It demonstrates our ongoing hunger for
knowledge, meaning and understanding.
The show’s revised script also reflects the relative humility that
accompanies science in an age of uncertainty.
With Pluto recently downgraded from a planet to a planetoid, astronomers
have demonstrated a willingness to admit mistakes or at least acknowledge a
limited perspective. Nothing puts us in
our place faster than a study of the stars.
My family’s visit to Griffith Observatory reminded me what a blip we’ve made in both human (and especially cosmic) history. It brought the timeless perspective of Psalm 19 into sharp relief. “The heavens declare the glory of God, the stars proclaim His handiwork.” The stars are the original proclamation, a form of general revelation. Astronomy flows into theology. Sailors studied the skies to get their bearings, to navigate dark straits. We look up in order to know which way to go. With humanity’s position in the firmament established, an appropriate humility results.
Art rooted in careful attention to nature shows a similar sense of perspective. Caspar David Friedrich’s painters show people as a speck on the horizon. We are invited to come alongside the person in the painting, to gaze at the true subject, the grandeur of creation and the glory of the Creator.
Wassily Kandinsky attempted to paint the music of the spheres. His abstract art pulsates with the rhythm and relationships of the stars. Objects in Kandinsky’s paintings practically dance across the canvas.
German composer, Gustav Holst’s The Planets, celebrates the Roman-named celestial bodies.
Classical music fans journey to the outer reaches of the solar system,
riding upon Holst’s sonic textures. Sun
Ra’s “Space is the Place” captures the sheer, wacked out chaos of the
stars. His Arkestra rocks with all the fury of the
Big Bang itself. Consider it anything
but smooth jazz.
Finally, the Griffith Observatory took me back to Stanley
Kubrick’s mesmerizing film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It contains the most dramatic jump cut in the history of cinema. An ape turns an animal bone into a
weapon. 
He pounds the ground with
delight until he flings the white bone into the air. It rises and falls in dramatic slow motion,
cutting to a shot of a spaceship, floating above the earth. Kubrick has reduced human progress to a
split second. Everything you ever
wanted to know about evolution can be scene in the gap between apes and outer space. Compared to the majesty and splendor of the
cosmos, we are a mere upstart, a snap of the fingers.
As an artist, I need a sense of size and space. As a person of faith, I need a connection to the Creator’s grandeur. Disparate strands of science, art and religion are reunited at the Griffith Observatory. May astronomy deepen your theology and fuel your creativity.
Before you go: a trip to the Griffith Observatory requires some planning. Parking is extremely limited (i.e. virtually not allowed) at the Observatory. In the meantime, bus service from remote sites whisk visitors up the hill. Reservations are required. Also, purchase same day planetarium show tickets upon arrival, since seats fill up fast. Details at: www.griffithobs.org
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