Universal Penguin Has  Stars In Its Eyes (seven feet fiberglass figure) back to Science Art One (astronomical)		contact the artist: diwigy@yahoo.com
click image thumbnails for larger view; then use your browser's back button to return to this page	3 dimensional video Universal's story View entire Penguin Parade Youngstown's Penguin Project	Universal's permanent home is the Ward Beecher Planetarium of Youngstown State University

"Celestial objects are painted in acrylics on the dark surface of the penguin, which was first given a coat of blackish Prussian blue. Near stars & bright stars, nebulae and open clusters, globular clusters, other galaxies, clusters of galaxies and even the best known quasar are labeled with their names and locations. The placement of these stars and deep-sky objects approximates a chart of the entire sky with the coordinates determined by the perspective of a viewer standing in Youngstown, Ohio.

The title of my penguin refers to four concepts and levels at once: The Universal Soldier is the title of an old folk song written by Buffy Saint-Marie in the early sixties about the Inevitability of War, referring to our present Middle Eastern travails. The Universal theme also refers to the starry universe that pervades our household: the material taught by my husband who works in YSU Physics and Astronomy Department. I am also referring to the fact that however hackneyed it may seem, or as critics may decry it, simply by living in Youngstown, it is the Center of the Universe from our perspective. From where we stand the world is revolving around us and at the same time we all need to have the vision that there is an entire awesome universe falling away from us, waiting to be explored and marveled upon. Which brings us to the last concept: our university is full of youthful-minded students all hoping …to improve their lives or the lives of those around them. They have stars in their eyes!”                    Diana Ludwig Submit comments and queries here