The Raygun Gothic Rocketship sculpture at Burning Man, 2009

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship is a retro-futurist art sculpture in the shape of a giant rocketship. It was created by Bay Area artists Nathaniel Taylor, Sean Orlando, and David Shulman.

The exhibit stands 40 feet tall and weighs 13,000 pounds.[1][2] The ship was built with 3 walkable decks. The interior is divided into the Engine Room & Life-Sciences Bio Lab, Crew Quarters & Navigation, and the upper Flight Deck and pilot chair.[3] The interior includes artistic details such as captured "alien specimens" and a zero gravity bed.[4] Creating the rocket required the work of 85 artists, engineers, fabricators, scientists and computer engineers.[4]

The creators described the art as "a future-rustic vision of yesterday’s tomorrow".[3] A San Francisco newspaper said it "offers a retro-futuristic, highly-stylized vision of space travel".[1]

The Rocket was originally created as an art installation for the 2009 Burning Man Festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada.[2][5] In 2010 it was moved and featured at a Yuri's Night celebration at NASA Ames Research Center,[4] as well as a second appearance at the Bay Area Maker Faire.[3] Later in 2010 the Rocket was moved and installed as a temporary art exhibit at Pier 14 in San Francisco.[1] It remained standing in San Francisco for 14 months.[1]

Today, the Rocketship is permanently installed on the site of the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, which was redeveloped in the 1990's into a new Denver, master-planned community known as the Lowry Neighborhood. The rocket sits atop a custom-built kiosk which houses the Rocket Ice Cream Shop. The Rocket installation is part of the historic Hangar 2 adaptive re-use project, which is now a retail center and is also adjacent to the historic Hangar 1, which houses the Wings Over the Rockeis Air and Space Museum.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mayor Unveils Monumental Raygun Gothic Rocketship Sculpture". sfgov.org. August 9, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Burning Man Arts – The Raygun Gothic Rocketship". burningman.org. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Mohammadi, Goli (April 28, 2010). "Maker Faire: Interview with Raygun Gothic Rocketship crew". makezine.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Weselby, Cathy (March 25, 2010). "Futuristic Rocket Lands; "Bird on Fire" Featured". Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Raygun Gothic Rocket Ship". atlasobscura.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Five Ton Crane – The Raygun Gothic Rocketship". fivetoncrane.org. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
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