A Sign in Space (2013-ongoing)
A project by media artist Daniela de Paulis
On May 24, 2023, a simulated extraterrestrial radio signal was transmitted towards Earth by the Trace Gas Orbiter, a spacecraft of the European Space Agency orbiting Mars. The signal was received by the Green Bank Telescope and the Allen Telescope Array in the USA and by the Medicina Radio Antenna in Italy. The event was part of the interdisciplinary project A Sign in Space and was streamed live by the SETI Institute, with thousands of people watching in real time.
Daniela de Paulis started A Sign in Space in late 2018 and developed the project in collaboration with researchers at the Green Bank Observatory, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the SETI Institute, and the European Space Agency over a period of two years. A dedicated team of specialists from various fields and cultural backgrounds also offered guidance in accomplishing the full artistic, cultural and scientific potential of the project.
A Sign in Space is a visionary art project involving the worldwide search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) community, professionals from different fields and the broader public in the reception, decoding and interpretation of the message.
The project simulates one of the many possible scenarios following the reception of a confirmed signal from an extraterrestrial civilization. In the scenario I envisioned, scientists release the data of the signal in the public domain so that people with different skills and expertise can attempt to decode it and interpret the message contained within it. The project aims at questioning human communication through one of the possibly most radical scenarios, in which humankind attempts to create meanings around a message crafted by an extraterrestrial intelligence.
A Sign in Space is a combination of theatre, live performance art, electronic literature, ARG (Alternate Reality Game), science, including radio astronomy and SETI. It also crosses disciplines such as space studies, anthropology, philosophy, semiotics, computer science, poetry and several others.
The project stems from my ongoing artistic practice started in 2009, combining performance art, radio technologies and live improvisation methodologies. In the performance settings I create in my projects, the stage and the narrative are open ended, with members of the audience entering the performance space and becoming co-creators.
A Sign in Space is primarily a work of cosmic theatre, encompassing physical spaces – such as the various terrestrial observatories as well as the Martian orbit – and virtual spaces, such as Discord, the online platform where the decoding and interpretation process is taking place, and where participants from around the globe are active performers, while attempting to create meaning around the message. After one week following the reception of the signal, several Discord participants, including BatchDrake and HayleyStorm, managed to extract the message from the raw data of the radio signal received by the various observatories. The message extracted has been represented by the Discord community as an enigmatic image with a black background dotted by groups of white pixels. Since then, the community has continued further decoding the message, experimenting with hundreds of possible interpretations. Some of the theories proposed include printing the message on paper and creating 3D shapes from it, thus bringing the message into the physical world. Other interpretations look at the image extracted from the signal as a star map, or as a series of dots forming arcane signs. Some other participants tried to divide the image into symmetrical shapes or to extract meanings from the binary code itself, using various digital tools. Other participants create musical compositions or science fiction stories inspired by the message and the project in general. Each decoder looks at the “Star Map” (this is how the Discord community refers to the message) in a subjective way, however people are learning from each other’s methodology and findings, giving mutual feedback. The technical, scientific and artistic interpretations are often punctuated by philosophical questioning around the topic of extraterrestrial intelligence, the limits of communication and other topics concerning human existence.
A Sign in Space reached more than 150 million people from 175 countries. As with the fiction created by a play staged in a physical theatre setting, the project creates an imaginary, yet experiential scenario of what it would be like to receive a signal from an extraterrestrial intelligence. The theatrical arena in A Sign in Space is the entire planet and even the cosmos, with the Trace Gas Orbiter being both a crucial performer and a pivotal object in the stage design of the event.
The project is named after the short story by Italian novelist Italo Calvino, published in his collection “Cosmicomics”. The novel describes the surreal tale of the very first being to populate the universe, who, tired of being alone, draws the very first sign in the unbearably empty cosmos. After many millions of years, the enigmatic being discovers that more life forms have emerged over time and they too have started drawing signs in the vastness of space. In my opinion, the novel resonates with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence with poetic and humorous insights.
Daniela de Paulis composed the message in collaboration with a team of international advisors. Two of these specialists, computer scientist and artist Giacomo Miceli and astronomer and writer Roy Smits, played a crucial role in the final message composition. We are the three main authors of the message and the only people in the world who know its exact content. The message composition process took two years and it was very challenging. Throughout the process, I guided the team in radically questioning anthropocentrism and in addressing topics relevant to current SETI work, while consolidating the artistic intentions of the message.
Project's website: https://asignin.space/
A project by media artist Daniela de Paulis
On May 24, 2023, a simulated extraterrestrial radio signal was transmitted towards Earth by the Trace Gas Orbiter, a spacecraft of the European Space Agency orbiting Mars. The signal was received by the Green Bank Telescope and the Allen Telescope Array in the USA and by the Medicina Radio Antenna in Italy. The event was part of the interdisciplinary project A Sign in Space and was streamed live by the SETI Institute, with thousands of people watching in real time.
Daniela de Paulis started A Sign in Space in late 2018 and developed the project in collaboration with researchers at the Green Bank Observatory, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the SETI Institute, and the European Space Agency over a period of two years. A dedicated team of specialists from various fields and cultural backgrounds also offered guidance in accomplishing the full artistic, cultural and scientific potential of the project.
A Sign in Space is a visionary art project involving the worldwide search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) community, professionals from different fields and the broader public in the reception, decoding and interpretation of the message.
The project simulates one of the many possible scenarios following the reception of a confirmed signal from an extraterrestrial civilization. In the scenario I envisioned, scientists release the data of the signal in the public domain so that people with different skills and expertise can attempt to decode it and interpret the message contained within it. The project aims at questioning human communication through one of the possibly most radical scenarios, in which humankind attempts to create meanings around a message crafted by an extraterrestrial intelligence.
A Sign in Space is a combination of theatre, live performance art, electronic literature, ARG (Alternate Reality Game), science, including radio astronomy and SETI. It also crosses disciplines such as space studies, anthropology, philosophy, semiotics, computer science, poetry and several others.
The project stems from my ongoing artistic practice started in 2009, combining performance art, radio technologies and live improvisation methodologies. In the performance settings I create in my projects, the stage and the narrative are open ended, with members of the audience entering the performance space and becoming co-creators.
A Sign in Space is primarily a work of cosmic theatre, encompassing physical spaces – such as the various terrestrial observatories as well as the Martian orbit – and virtual spaces, such as Discord, the online platform where the decoding and interpretation process is taking place, and where participants from around the globe are active performers, while attempting to create meaning around the message. After one week following the reception of the signal, several Discord participants, including BatchDrake and HayleyStorm, managed to extract the message from the raw data of the radio signal received by the various observatories. The message extracted has been represented by the Discord community as an enigmatic image with a black background dotted by groups of white pixels. Since then, the community has continued further decoding the message, experimenting with hundreds of possible interpretations. Some of the theories proposed include printing the message on paper and creating 3D shapes from it, thus bringing the message into the physical world. Other interpretations look at the image extracted from the signal as a star map, or as a series of dots forming arcane signs. Some other participants tried to divide the image into symmetrical shapes or to extract meanings from the binary code itself, using various digital tools. Other participants create musical compositions or science fiction stories inspired by the message and the project in general. Each decoder looks at the “Star Map” (this is how the Discord community refers to the message) in a subjective way, however people are learning from each other’s methodology and findings, giving mutual feedback. The technical, scientific and artistic interpretations are often punctuated by philosophical questioning around the topic of extraterrestrial intelligence, the limits of communication and other topics concerning human existence.
A Sign in Space reached more than 150 million people from 175 countries. As with the fiction created by a play staged in a physical theatre setting, the project creates an imaginary, yet experiential scenario of what it would be like to receive a signal from an extraterrestrial intelligence. The theatrical arena in A Sign in Space is the entire planet and even the cosmos, with the Trace Gas Orbiter being both a crucial performer and a pivotal object in the stage design of the event.
The project is named after the short story by Italian novelist Italo Calvino, published in his collection “Cosmicomics”. The novel describes the surreal tale of the very first being to populate the universe, who, tired of being alone, draws the very first sign in the unbearably empty cosmos. After many millions of years, the enigmatic being discovers that more life forms have emerged over time and they too have started drawing signs in the vastness of space. In my opinion, the novel resonates with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence with poetic and humorous insights.
Daniela de Paulis composed the message in collaboration with a team of international advisors. Two of these specialists, computer scientist and artist Giacomo Miceli and astronomer and writer Roy Smits, played a crucial role in the final message composition. We are the three main authors of the message and the only people in the world who know its exact content. The message composition process took two years and it was very challenging. Throughout the process, I guided the team in radically questioning anthropocentrism and in addressing topics relevant to current SETI work, while consolidating the artistic intentions of the message.
Project's website: https://asignin.space/
Duration (minutes)
60
What is needed
Video projector, HDMI cable, audio speakers, microphone.
What the artists brings
Radio technologies, ESA spacecraft, Internet.
Videos (1)
