BATON ROUGE, LA.- The Louisiana Art & Science Museum opened its newest exhibition, The Art of Looking Up: Following the Stars, from Ancient Cultures to the Webb on Friday, October 6, at LASM’s 38th Annual Gala: Out of this World and is now currently on view to the general public.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, the LASM continues its yearlong celebration of showcasing art inspired by space and space exploration. In this exhibition, The Art of Looking Up: Following the Stars, from Ancient Cultures to the Webb, LASM has chosen to display a variety of artworks from their permanent collection, private collections, the LSU Museum of Art, and the Hilliard Art Museum, including pieces from Spanish surrealist artist, Salvador Dalí.

The artworks trace the history of following the stars from the viewpoint of the earliest cultures to the time of the James Webb Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most complex space telescope ever built, can see farther than ever and allows scientists to search for questions about the nature of the universe and humanity’s place in it.

“The Art of Looking Up traces human’s fascination and desire to unravel the mysteries of outer space and our place in the universe,” states LASM Curator and Public Programming Manager Tracey Barhorst. “Ancient civilizations were avid astronomers aiming to interpret solar phenomena such as eclipses, solstices, equinoxes, and comets. Today, the James Webb Space Telescope images are exploring every phase of the history of our universe.”

The Art of Looking Up: Following the Stars, from Ancient Cultures to the Webb is generously supported by Entergy, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, and the Alma Lee, Norman and Cary Saurage Fund of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. LASM has also received a 2023 Louisiana Cultural Care Fund Grant, which provides generous general operating support related to LASM's exhibitions. Funding for this 2023 Louisiana Culture Care Fund Grant has been provided by the State of Louisiana and administered by the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities.

Louisiana Art & Science Museum
The Art of Looking Up: Following the Stars, from Ancient Cultures to the Webb
October 6th, 2023 - April 21st, 2024