Interior Space: Photographs by Roland Miller & Paolo Nespoli

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
During a project documenting the Space Shuttle program in 1998, Roland Miller photographed several sections of the International Space Station (ISS) under construction at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Fascinated with the complex structure, he returned over the next several years, capturing images of additional modules and assembly facilities. In 2014, he had a fateful meeting with astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman, who challenged Miller to devise a method to photograph the ISS from the viewpoint of those serving on board. Together with Italian astronaut Major Paolo Angelo Nespoli, who was an ISS resident, Miller developed a system to transmit the images to Earth. After a period of intense experimentation, research, and trial and error, Miller and Nespoli refined the method and successfully and artfully documented the station. This showcase includes a selection of images from the project. The show has an accompanying book, Interior Space: A Visual Exploration of the International Space Station.

This exhibition will be on view April 9–September 8, 2024.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Roland Miller, a Chicago native, studied photography at Utah State University, earning both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine arts. He taught photography for fourteen years at Eastern Florida State College (originally Brevard Community College) in Cocoa, Florida. It was during this time that Miller began photographing NASA sites along the Florida coast. After retiring as a Dean Emeritus from the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois in 2008, Miller turned his attention full-time to personal photo projects, including recording and interpreting the United States’ space program. His images have been exhibited at and collected by museums around the globe, with Miller’s work featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic UK, and Forbes Magazine.

Paolo Nespoli is an Italian astronaut and engineer with the European Space Agency. His first space flight was on the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2007, serving as a mission specialist delivering the Harmony module, a utility hub of the ISS which connects laboratory sections of the United States, Europe, and Japan. Nespoli was part of two more missions before retiring in 2019. While the astronaut’s main role was to conduct experiments and direct operations, he had a strong interest in cinematography, partnering with filmmaker Christopher Riley to create the 2011 experimental documentary, First Orbit. While onboard the ISS, Nespoli tracked the path of the 1961 Vostok 1, the first human orbital spaceflight. During his stay on the ISS in 2017, he acted as cinematographer for the National Geographic Channel’s One Strange Rock.

Exhibition Lenders & Sponsors

We would like to thank the generous donors to the Annual Exhibition Fund: The Imo N. Brown Memorial Fund in memory of Heidel Brown and Mary Ann Brown; The Alma Lee, H. N., and Cary Saurage Fund; Charles “Chuck” Edward Schwing; Robert and Linda Bowsher; and The Newton B. Thomas Family/Newtron Group Fund.

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