The Planetary Society
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Jon Lomberg  –  artist
" Learn technique from others, but don't try to imitate another's vision. "
       
 
How were you motivated to choose your particular field?
  I don't consider myself a space artist, just an artist. Artists have always been inspired by Nature: sunsets, life forms, clouds, waves. To me planetary exploration and astronomy just provide a wider window onto Nature, and the new phenomena revealed motivate me to do art. Often I try to combine Earthly themes with cosmic themes to show the interconnectedness of phenomena and processes in the Universe.   Click for larger image
       
 
What can you share about your creative process?
    Listen to your own internal visions. Learn technique from others, but don't try to imitate another's vision. Don't worry about the market or critics. "To thine own self be true." Having a dab of genius helps too, if you are lucky enough to be born with it! For the rest of us, hard work, persistence, and discipline are a must. Salvador Dali said, "No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.  
       
 
What ideas do you have for a future human community on Mars?
  The community of Martians will find their own voices. We can no more tell them what their visions should be than 17th century Europeans could invent jazz. The most exciting prospect of having society of humans on another world is that they will form a new culture, whose art and philosophy cannot be imagined. But if I were an artist on Mars in an inhabited Solar System where Earth, Moon, and Jupiter (and perhaps the Jovian moons) were naked eye objects, I might be interested in imagining "collaborative" works between the planets, e.g., flashing signals at each other with large mirrors in orbit, or having identical outdoor sculptures on various sites throughout the System, and seeing how time and local conditions causes them to adopt the personality of their home world.  
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