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FRANK MALINA
(american 1912-1981)
"VOYAGE IV"
from "voyage among supernovae"
Signed bottom right, signed again and titled 'Malina "VOYAGE IV"/"VOYAGE AMONG SUPERNOVAE," inscribed '949/64 / KINETIC PAINTING / LUMIDYNE SYSTEM' verso, kinetic painting and electrical system
40 1/2 x 79 1/2 x 5 5/8 in. (102.9 x 201.9 x 14.3cm)

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provenance:
Purchased directly from the artist by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lawrence Whipple.
The Estate of Babette S. Whipple, Belmont, Massachusetts.

note:
This kinetic sculpture was created for Fred Lawrence Whipple, director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory from 1955-73 and accomplished professor of Astronomy at Harvard University.

Texas born artist Frank Malina was a pioneer in the field of aeronautics and was the first Director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. His team at that facility was responsible for the successful launch of the first American rocket into space, the WAC Corporal. In 1951 Malina became head of UNESCO's division of scientific research but left shortly thereafter to pursue an interest in kinetic art while living and working in Paris. His work was widely exhibited and notably included in 'Cybernetics Serendipity,' the first exhibition to explore aspects of computer-aided artwork presented at the ICA in London in 1968.