Robert McCall: Visual Space Historian.

American artist Robert McCall has aptly been called a visual space historian for his artwork that chronicles the exploration of the cosmos. Combining reality with fantasy, McCall's work illustrates--with intricate and believable detail--the machinery, people, and jobs on the frontiers of space. Diverse projects have placed McCall's artwork in magazines, books, museums, government buildings, church windows, popular films, and on postage stamps. His career has spanned more than half a century.

Robert McCall was born and grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where as a child, he was intrigued by the science of flight and the art of drawing. Even though the airplanes that he saw in static displays at fairs or in-flight at the Port Columbus Airport were a far cry from the futuristic images that McCall later came to create, these planes sparked his lifelong interest in aviation.

At the onset of World War II, McCall gave serious thought to becoming a pilot. But, the discovery that he was colorblind put a halt to that idea. Assigned to duty as a bombardier, McCall was enthralled with the unobstructed views of take off, flight, and landing that the observation bubble on the front of the bombers afforded him. The airborne vantage point was an optimum place for sketching aviation scenes.

A two-year scholarship to the Columbus Fine Art School provided formal art training for McCall. After his art studies concluded, McCall soon moved to New York City to pursue an art career. In the early 1960s, McCall's illustrations gained wide public attention when they were featured with a series of articles in Life magazine about the future of space travel. Soon after the Life series, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) chose McCall to visually document the American space program. It was during this time that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick took note of McCall's work and selected him as the conceptual artist for the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Interview

In this interview, comprised mostly of questions posed by sixth-grade students, McCall addresses his fascination with the science of flight and his dedication to art.

PS: You are known for your artwork that shows scenes of flight and space. How old were you when you first became interested in painting futuristic scenes? What captured your interest in these subjects?

RM: My parents took me to the 1933 Chicago World's Fair and it was a significant moment in the evolution of this particular small boy's dreams. The Hall of Science especially delighted me and inspired me in so many ways. When I was 15 years old, I was fascinated with aviation and all things that had to do with science. I would watch aircraft take off and land at Port Columbus Airport and [envision] what the aircraft of the future would be like.

I was also fascinated with all kinds of flight like the flight of pigeons, or, on those occasions when I could get to the seashore, the flight of seagulls; their effortless flight was so beautiful.

PS: So you might encourage young artists to look into other fields to find the subjects for their artwork?

RM: Absolutely. Young people should look into all fields that interest them. They should be encouraged to explore those interests, in books or any way that they can.

PS: Your futuristic images seem so real that the viewer might think you have actually seen the places you paint. From what source do you derive your futuristic ideas?

RM: Although I have never considered myself a science fiction buff, my greatest interest has been in science fact and the projection of today's technology into the future. Of course, if one projects far enough into the future, anything seems to be possible now.

PS: Some of your best-known artwork was created for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Would you tell us a little about that experience?

RM: I was working as an illustrator in New York City, a place with the greatest opportunity for a young artist. When MGM contacted me, I had already done work for Life magazine, some of which had to do with spacecraft of the future. The Life series had influenced some of Kubrick's early thinking about the spacecraft in his film. That is a nice connection, but one that is not generally known. So, when MGM asked if I wanted to go to London to meet with Kubrick, I said "Of course!" When I flew to London and met Kubrick, he asked if I wanted to work with him. I was really ecstatic. It's one of our loveliest memories ... living in London those months. I just wanted to stay there and drink in the experience as long as possible.

PS: Another well-known artwork is your six-story mural at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Please tell us about that.

RM: The transition from aircraft to spacecraft was a natural and easy one for me. Space flight seemed all the more spectacular, and all the more dramatic. NASA was looking for artists who had a special bent in the future of space flight, so they contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in being a part of the NASA art program.

PS: I noticed on the CNN website that you have designed stained-glass windows for a church in Paradise Valley, Arizona. It is almost as if you have captured the universe in glass.

RM: It is wonderful. My wife, Louise, and I designed that together. It is 160' (63 m) in circumference, and up to 10' (4 m) high. Right now we are designing six new windows for the church. The CNN website gives a good view of the windows with its 360 [degrees] camera shots.

PS: What sorts of ideas do you try to convey through your art, or what do you most wish to teach?

RM: I strive to somehow communicate to people through my paintings in some small way the glory, the wonder, the magic, the awesome nature of this universe in which we dwell. Daily, we are learning more about our universe. Space and the universe are filled with mystery. That's why I think the word "magic" is appropriate. It is beyond comprehension. We'll never understand it, but just contemplating it is a joy and thrill.

PS: There are many young artists who find inspiration in your artwork. Would you please give some advice about how the artists of tomorrow can be the best artists they can possibly be?

RM: Isn't that a wonderful question? It's really a pretty easy question to answer. Not surprising, it's the same answer one would get from any serious artist with experience. That is, you have to be curious and inquisitive about all aspects of human life. One must have a passion and really care about art, drawing, and painting. One must be emotionally stable enough to survive and tolerate disappointment. Explore nature and everything that is around you. Experience the great museums and galleries. Study the work of other artists, especially the master artists.

SchoolArts thanks Robert McCall for generously sharing his time and insights with the many art teachers who will read this interview. His approach to life and art is a role model for artists and art educators to follow, and his enthusiasm for art and science is contagious.

References:

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/ space/9908/mccall.ipix/frame-set.exclude.html

http://www.artsednet.getty.edu/ ArtsEdNet/Resources/Space/ index.html

http://www.mccallstudios.com/ mccall/home2.html

Dr. Pamela Geiger Stephens is an elementary art specialist in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, Bedford, Texas. Abril Cuevas, Husein Ebrahim, Steven Miller, and Karima Pirani are students who submitted questions for this interview.