Antennology: Cosmos to Canvas

Abstract

Amid the vast expanse of the New Mexico high desert, the Very Large Array and Walter De Maria’s The Lightning Field each harness elemental forces. Though independently conceived, both converge around energies below the threshold of perception, redrawing boundaries among geology, climate, and cosmos. Engaging with these installations, the authors foreground antennae as conduits of connectivity—both structural and conceptual modules that merge imperceptible energies with perception, media, and art. Engineered antennae thus emerge as cultural techniques that (1) transform elemental forces into media, (2) transmute media back into elemental phenomena, and (3) stand as aesthetic objects in their own right.