Vesuvius

August 24, 79 AD: Vesuvius erupts. Centuries after being dormant, the volcano explodes and takes the lives of thousands in Pompeii and Herculaneum. The devastation began at noon with a 10 mile cloud of ash and toxic fumes. This was followed by a flood of volcanic mud and rock that spread into the cities, burying the dead.

Although this was depressing, some beauty can be found as the area was “frozen in time” providing an archaeological record about the people who lived there.

The last eruption was in 1944 and another is expected in the near future.

Arthur created an entire portfolio on Vesuvius, which contains 15 original etchings. Here are two more images:

NASA

This post is related to the most recent blurb on moons…it is about NASA and how Arthur Secunda ties into this organization.

July 29^th of 1958 marks the beginning of NASA, a day “when Congress passed the legislation and President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law” (nasa.gov). Top administration was appointed in August; Keith Glennan and Hugh Dryden. However, it wasn’t until October 1^st that NASA was open for business.

Now what does any of this have to do with the Arthur Secunda Museum at Cleary University? Well, let’s take a look into the past.

Arthur Secunda had been making artwork for some time when he created a piece titled Volcano. Dr. Milton Halem, Former Chief Information Research Scientist, saw this particular image while attending an exhibit. It was at this moment that he desired to collaborate with Arthur. It took years to track Arthur down. Finally, after an interesting discussion…Arthur became an employee for NASA. Dr. Halem recognized the potential that Arthur could offer to NASA regarding the representation of colors emitted by the satellites. After seeing Volcano you’ll understand his decision to make Arthur a Color Visualization Consultant.

 

Volcano