Tom Van Sant 1931-2023

1931 Born Los Angeles, California
1953   B.A., Stanford University
1954-1955   Commissioned Officer, United States Marine Corps, Korea, Japan
1957 M.F.A., Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County
1957-1965   Faculty, Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County
1958-1961  Instructor, Omega Seminars, Adult Education 
1975-76 Creator of Large-Scale Kites 
1978-2023  Instructor, Life Drawing Classes, Tom Van Sant studio
1988 Instructor, Life Drawing, Santa Monica College Community Division
1989-2023 Founder and CEO, The GeoSphere Project, for the creation of the First Satellite Map of Earth, the GeoSphere Globe, the Global Visual Library, and the Earth Situation Room Exhibits
1990 Creator, The First Satellite Map of Earth (The GeoSphere Image), composite map of planet Earth from space, one year in the making.
1991-2000 Development and installation of 7 Earth Situation Room permanent exhibits in 7 countries on 5 continents
2000-2013 Development of commissioned studio sculptures and paintings, education
2011-2012   Instructor and Mentor, Otis College of Art and Design   

ASSOCIATIONS   

Fellow, MIT, Center for Advanced Visual Studies

Founding Director, Los Angeles Mural Conservancy

Founding Director, TIMOCA (21st Century Int’l Museum of Contemporary Art)

Board of Advisors, Artists Equity Association

Instructor, Santa Monica College Community Division

AWARDS

Leonardo Di Vinci Space Art Award – from the National Space Society, the Planetary Society, and the Carnegie Mellon University Studio for Creative Inquiry for a ‘lifetime of artistic actions in and with the sky and outer space, including his brightly clear re-envisioning of Earth’ (The First Satellite Map of Planet Earth.)

The Golden Brush Award – from Illustrators West for the illustrations of the Howard Fast novel and the 1961 film “Spartacus” starring Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Olivier.

City of Los Angeles Certificate of Commendation – for creation of the “Goddess of Democracy” sculpture made in collaboration with other artists in support of the Chinese Democratic Movement.

City of Los Angeles Certificate of Appreciation – for spearheading the first annual Otis College of Art and Design, “Kite Festival,” and ‘dedicating his lifetime to professional artwork for display around the globe’.

Numerous Awards of Merit from the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles County and Orange County, for individual projects and a ‘Lifetime Award for contributions to architecture’.

Vanguard Award of 1998 – conferred by the Silicon Graphics Corporation for the advancement of computer graphics in the making of the “Tom Van Sant Satellite Map of Earth”, the largest single image created in an interactive computer of its time. 

ART IN PUBLIC PLACES

1956 Union Union,  mural, oil on canvas  6’ x 15’  Retail Clerks Union 770, Los Angeles, California 

1957 Fire, Water and Earth,  mural, Italian glass mosaic, 300 square feet Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County, MFA thesis project

1958 New World Conquest,  Italian glass mosaic inlayed in black marble, two walls, 400 square feet, Mercantile National Bank, Dallas, Texas 

1958 Muskie,  bronze sculpture and fountain, Tyler Bank and Trust Company, Tyler, Texas

1959 Transportation of Water,  natural rock Mosaic mural, American Pipe and Construction  Company, Monterey Park, California 

1959 Tree of Life,  rock mosaic, 10’ x 25’,  San Marino Congregational Church, San Marino, California 

1960 Eldorado Myth,  glass mosaic, rock mosaic, El Dorado Country Club, Palm Desert, California

1961 Tom Van Sant Residence, architecture, Los Angeles, California

1961 Children at Play, carved brick, two walls, California Congress of Parents and Teachers, Los Angeles, California 

1961 Great Inventions,  mural, natural stone, Bell City Library, Bell, California

1962 Flying Pair,   epoxy resin, 6’,  Buffums Department Store, Pomona, California

1962 Colors of the Wind,  enamel on copper, Harrah’s Club, Tahoe, California

1962 Sources of Knowledge,  glass mosaic, Home Savings and Loan Association, Compton, California 

1962 Fullerton City Seal,  glass mosaic , Fullerton City Hall,  Fullerton, California 

1963 Open Hand,  bronze sculpture, 5’, Gibraltar Savings,  Baldwin Hills, California 

1963 Crucifixion and Resurrection,  glass mosaic, two murals 8’x5’, Santa Clara Church Mausoleum, Ventura, California 

1963 Great Moments in History,  acrylic on canvas, 1700 square feet on five walls,  Mt. San Antonio College Library, Pomona, California

1964 The Gulls of Salt Lake City,  bronze, 120 feet high, Prudential Federal  Savings and Loan Association, Salt Lake City, Utah 

1964 Flight Form,  bronze sculpture, 7’, Robert E. Gross Memorial, Forest Lawn, Glendale, California 

1965 Gulls,  bronze sculpture, Prudential Federal, Ogden, Utah 

1965 Spanish Heritage,  oil on wood, Howard Johnson Hotel, Anaheim, California  

1967 Wind Chimes,  aluminum 10’ x 80’,  Robinson’s Department Store,  Newport Beach, California 

1968 Indigenous, sculptured concrete, 1200 square feet on forty walls, Irvine Financial Plaza, Newport Beach, California

1968 Tree of Life, St. Martin’s Cross, The Last Supper, plaster cement relief, three walls, Geneva Presbyterian Church, Santa Ana, California

1968 California Migrations, acrylic on canvas, 120’ by 15’, Crocker-Citizens National Bank, Los Angeles, California

1969 Water Fall, glazed ceramic sculptured wall, 80’,  Robinson’s  Department Store, San Diego, California 

1969 Flight,  aluminum sculpture, 10 ‘ x 12’, Los Angles Public Library, Huntington Park, California

1969 Bird of Wisdom,  sculptured concrete, 10’ x 20’, Hoffman Motors, Marina del Rey, California 

1970 Founder I, Founder II, 15’x 30’, glazed ceramic tile, Arizona First  National Bank, Globe, Arizona 

1971 Celestial Way,  bronze sundial, Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, California

1971 Industries of Hawaii,  sculptured concrete murals, five walls,  Davies Pacific Center, Honolulu, Hawaii

1971 Hawaiian Visions,  sculptured concrete murals, seven walls, Kona Surf Resort, Kona, Hawaii

1972 The Word,  sculptured concrete, 25’ x 50’, Inglewood Civic Center, Inglewood, California

1972 Family Group, nickel and bronze sculpture, 8’x 25’, Union Bank Plaza, Newport Beach, California 

1972 Sail Forms, terrazzo sculpture, 20’x 30’, Yacht Harbor Towers, Honolulu, Hawaii 

1972 Body of Knowledge,  ceramic sculpture mural , Los Angeles County Library, Lakewood, California

1972 Forms of Flight,  stainless steel, sculpture  collection seven pieces, Transamerica Pyramid Building, San Francisco, California

1972 Celebration of Life,  ceramic tile on steel, 70’x6’,  Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, California

1972 Shells and Gods,  oil on canvas mural, Davies Pacific Center,  Honolulu, Hawaii 

1972   History of Flight,  sculptured concrete, eighteen panels, Republic of China Civil Aeronautics Building, Taipei, Taiwan 

1973 Luau,  sculptured concrete, 80’ x 13’, Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii 

1974 Los Angeles Civic Center Pedestrian Bridge, sculptured concrete, Los Angeles Civic Center,  Los Angeles, California

1974 Open Hand, fountain, ceramic on steel, Los Angeles Civic Center, Los Angeles, California  

1974 Vietnam  Memorial,  iron, bronze, and foliage, 8’x 20’, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California   

1974-78 Kites, design, construction, demonstrations and traveling exhibits:  US, UK, Holland, France, Ireland, Australia

1976 Pour,  sculptured concrete 10’x 12’, Hawaiian Dredging and Construction Company,  Honolulu, Hawaii 

1976 Flight of Fancy,  fiberglass and fabric sculpture, 15’ x  20‘,  Century Park Sheraton Hotel, Manila, Philippines

1977 Tapas,  sculptured concrete, 10’ x 40’. Wailea Beach Hotel, Maui, Hawaii 

1979 Authors of the Sea,  concrete, eight walls, Bank of Newport Beach, Newport Beach, California 

1980 Reflections from Earth, reflected sunlight from the Earth recorded by the LANDSAT satellite, Mojave Desert, California

1981 Ryan’s Eye, scanned electrons, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

1982 Desert Dreams, paper mache 10’ x 20’, Wells Fargo Bank, Los Angeles, California 

1984 Silent Form, fabric and fiberglass, thirty-six piece, Los Angeles International Airport, Thomas Bradley Terminal, Los Angeles, California 

1984 Birds of Prey,  concrete murals, two walls, William Allen residence, Provo, Utah 

1985 Portrait of King Vidor,  bronze sculpture,  16”,  Founding Director, Directors Guild of America, Hollywood, California 

1986 Sea Form,  sculptured concrete, Paul Briles residence, Playa del Rey, California

1986 Eyes on Earth, reflected light and satellite imagery, Pacific Design Center, Hollywood, California

1988 Dove,  stained glass window, 25’ x 25’,  Glenkirk Presbyterian Church, Glendora, California

1988 Sky Cross,  sculptured wall, 50’ x 15’,  Glenkirk Presbyterian Church, Glendora, California

1989 Pelican Wall,  sculptured concrete, 15’ x 120’  City of Newport Beach, Newport Beach, California

1989 Goddess of Democracy, polystyrene replica of The Goddess of Democracy erected by Chinese Students in Tiananmen  Square, Beijing, destroyed by the Chinese Army, 23’ temporary installation, Los Angeles, California

1989 The GeoSphere Project founded by Tom Van Sant for creation of the Satellite Map of Earth, the GeoSphere Globe and the Earth Situation Room Exhibit for science and education centers in USA, Japan, Sweden, Spain, Brazil, and South Africa

1990 The Earth From Space (The GeoSphere Image), the first satellite map of planet Earth, one year in the making, completed April 15, 1990, selected as the title page of the 1990 National Geographic World Atlas, adopted by NOAA, NASA and the United Nations, becomes the most widely distributed single image in the world 

1991 GeoSphere Globe, 6’6” the first reality model of Earth and the Global Visual Library, an electronic geographic program for monitoring global resources and global change 

1992 Earth Situation Room Environmental Exhibit for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (The Earth Summit), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

1993 Earth Situation Room Permanent Environmental Exhibit, Brazilian National Center For Space Research,Sao Paulo, Brazil. Purchased by the United Nations as a gift to Brazil for hosting the UN Conference on Environment and Development of 1992.

1994 Earth Situation Room Permanent Environmental Exhibit, Hemiji Science Center, Osaka, Japan 

1995 Earth Situation Room Permanent Environmental Exhibit, Toho Science Center, Nagoya, Japan 

1996 The First Satellite Map of Earth, satellite map of Earth completed at higher resolution (1km)

1996  Earth Situation Room Permanent Environmental Exhibit, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C.

1996 Completion of The Earth From Space, satellite map of Earth at 1km resolution 

1996 Earth Situation Room, Smithsonian National Zoological Park,Washington, D.C.

1997 GeoSphere Globe, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California 

1998 The Digital 3-D Earth, developed in association with Silicon Graphics (SGI), the basis for Google Earth

1998  Earth Situation Room Permanent Environmental Exhibit, Lisaberg Theme Park, Goteburg, Sweden

2000 Earth Situation Room Permanent Environmental Exhibit, MTN Science Center, Cape Town, South Africa 

2001 Dolphin Wall, sculptured concrete, 12’ x 60′, Hoag Memorial Hospital,  Newport Beach, California 

2003 Marsh Birds,   bronze sculpture, 7’,  Muth Interpretive Center, Newport Beach, California

2005 Sandpiper Wall,  sculptured concrete 5’ x 60’, Hoag Memorial Hospital, Newport Beach, California

2013 History Wall, sculptured concrete, 10′ x 30′, Orange County Peace Officer’s Memorial, Tustin, California

2013 Heroic Figures, cast bronze, 9′, in association with Daub and Firmin Sculpture Studios, Orange County Peace Officer’s  Memorial, Tustin, California

ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS

1956 LOS ANGELES UNIVERSITY CLUB, Los Angeles, California

1959     OTIS ART INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY (OTIS-PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN), Los Angeles, California

1960     GALERIE DE VILLE, Los Angeles, California

1963    GALERIE DE VILLE, Los Angeles, California

1969     SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Washington, D.C.

1970     GAIL WOODWARD GALLERIES, Westwood, California

1974     JACQUELINE ANHALT GALLERY, Los Angeles, California

1976     INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, London

1976     FESTIVAL D’AUTOMNE A PARIS, Foundation Salomon de Rothschild, Paris

1977     CHAFFEY COLLEGE MUSEUM AND GALLERY, Ontario, California, retrospective exhibit

1977     MYER GALLERIES, Melbourne, Australia

1977     MYER GALLERIES, Sydney, Australia

1977     HONOLULU CITY HALL, Honolulu, Hawaii

1977     STEDELIJK MUSEUM, Amsterdam, with exhibit traveling to the municipal galleries of Den Helder, Bergen Aan Zee and Egmond Aan Zee, Holland

1977     LAKEHAL MUSEUM, Leiden, Holland

1977     SCHIEDAM MUSEUM, Rotterdam, Holland

1977     BUTLER CASTLE MUSEUM, Kilkenny, Ireland

1980     LOS ANGELES PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER, Los Angeles, California

1985     LAGUNA DESIGN CENTER, Laguna Beach, California

1986     CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY, Los Angeles, California

1999     KETTLE’S YARD GALLERY, Cambridge, U.K. 

ILLUSTRATION

1956 – 59  

FAITH & FREEDOM MAGAZINE,  Art Director

1958 – 59  

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, documentary drawings and commentary on Greek Cypriot terrorist war, from Cyprus and  Jordan, published January and February, 1959

1960          

UNIVERSAL PICTURES CORPORATION,  AWARD OF MERIT,  documentary and promotional  drawings for the film “Spartacus”

1961 – 64   

BANTAM PUBLISHING CO., AWARD OF MERIT,  IWS, Illustration of the novel  “Spartacus” by Howard Fast

1961 – 64   

McINTOSH, INC., card design, “Christmas Artists” series

1962 – 66   

CHILDREN’S ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL, Los Angeles,  California Announcement and program design, Film World Premiers

1968          

UNITED STATES LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, war combat artist, 1st Marine Division

INVENTIONS

1958    Use of natural colored stone mosaic precast in epoxy resin for mural and curtain wall application

1961    Electrodeposition of nickel, copper and bronze for lightweight, thin shell sculpture forming

1965    Development of polyurethane forms for concrete casting of sculpture relief in architectural application

1968    Development of forming procedures for exposed aggregate concrete casting

1974    Development and use of fiberglass and nylon fabric in airborne structures 

1980    Development and use of solar reflectors for satellite sensor reception

1983    Use of scanning eleitrmicrosopy for creation of sub micron imagery

1989    Design and use of software for compositing satellite mosaics

1995    Design of video projection systems for globe display technologies

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING

1971     

CITY OF INGLEWOOD, Art Master Plan for Inglewood Civic Center, Inglewood, Charles Luckman Associates, architects

1972 – 73

CITY OF LOS ANGELES, Art and Environmental Master Plan,  The Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles

1972        

DAVIES PACIFIC CENTER, Honolulu, Hawaii.  Art Environmental Consultant, Au, Cutting & Smith, architects

1975 – 76  

FARAHZAD CENTER, Teheran, Iran.  Art & Environment Plan, Archisystems, Inc., planners and architects

1986 – 88  

WORLD TECHNOLOGY TRADE CENTER, Washington, D.C.  Smith/Williams Group, architects 

TEACHING  

1960 – 66   

OTIS ART INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY                                   

Instructor of drawing, painting and design

1967 – 68   

OMEGA SEMINARS, Institute for Executive Research, Glendale, California. 

Instructor for personal growth seminars

1967-2013  

TOM VAN SANT STUDIO, Los Angeles, California.  Life drawing 

1988 – 89   

SANTA MONICA COLLEGE,  Instructor of life drawing        

ADDITIONAL AWARDS

1956     RETAIL CLERKS UNION, mural, oil on canvas.  Juried open competition  among graduate students of California.

1959     SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, 
Art and Craftsmanship Award.

1963     MT. SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE, library murals.  Juried international 
invitational competition.

1965     OUTSTANDING YOUNG MEN OF AMERICA, U.S. Junior Chamber of              Commerce. Awarded for artistic achievement.

1968     CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH,  International Sculpture Symposium Commission, “Vietnam Revisited”, steel and bronze.

1984    LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,  Sculpture assemblage, fabric and fiberglass, thirty six pieces.  Award of Merit.
 

1999     SGI “VANGUARD” Award 

2006     LEONARDO DA VINCI SPACE ART AWARD , ISDC Space Art Life Dedication Award

GLOBAL DISPLAY SYSTEMS

1989   Eyes On Earth, a California non-profit corporation, was founded by Van Sant for environmental research and education.

1989 The GeoSphere Project was created by Van Sant as the display and distribution arm of  Eyes On Earth. The following are its products.

1990 The GeoSphere Image marks a milestone in cartographic history.  It is the first satellite map of Earth, showing the real world as it appears from space. The work required one year of effort by Van Sant and his technical director Lloyd Van Warren, using the world’s most powerful graphics computers. The image was first published as the title page of the 1990 National Geographic World Atlas. Since 1991 it has been adopted by all U.S. federal agencies, has been published in over 300 magazines and atlases, and is the largest selling image in the world.

1991   The Global Visual Library (aka Life on Earth), under development by Van Sant since 1987, is an interactive, multimedia universal library.  It consists of multimedia visualizations of Earth’s processes, historic dynamics, species habitats, migration patterns, and political and social data bases.  Organized in a global geographic information system.

1991   The GeoSphere Globe, 6 feet in diameter, utilizes The GeoSphere Image as its surface and constitutes the first three dimensional, realistic model of  planet Earth. The sphere is constructed of clear Lexan, thereby allowing video projectors within the globe to display the animated data sets of the Global Visual Library through its surface.

1992   The Earth Situation Room is the ultimate display of The GeoSphere Project effort.  

It incorporates the assets of The Global Visual Library, The GeoSphere Globe, and offers monitoring of world weather, earthquakes, ocean conditions, ozone depletion, deforestation, commercial  air and sea traffic, and special research projects.  

Earth Situation Rooms have been installed at the following locations:        

• United Nations Summit Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Brazilian National Center for Space Research, Sao Panlo, Brazil
• Hemiji Science Center, Osaka, Japan
• Toho Gas Exhibit, Nogoya, Japan          
• World Exposition, Barcelona, Spain
• Lisaberg Theme Park, Goteberg, Sweden
• Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C. 
• MTN Science Center, Capetown, South Africa  

PARTIAL LECTURE LIST

• University of California at Los Angeles    
• University of California at Irvine   
• University of the Sequoias   
• California Institute of Technology   
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology   
• Stanford University   
• University of Hawaii   
• Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County   
• California Museum  of Science and Industry   
• Exploratorium, San Francisco   
• Seattle Museum of Science and Industry   
• Fort Worth City Association   
• Taipei Future City Association, Republic of China   
• American Institute of Architects   
• American Institute of Landscape Architects   
• Los Angeles Pacific Design Center   
• Institute of Contemporary Art, London   
• Architects For An Ethical Society   
• The Sierra Club   
• The Audubon Society   
• The Stedelijk Museum, Netherlands   
• Kilkenny Festival, Ireland   
• National Meteorological Society   
• Smithsonian Natural History Museum   
• United States Geological Survey, Souix Falls   
• National Space Center, Sao Paolo, Brazil   
• Himiji Science Center, Osaka,  Japan   
• Tokai University, Tokyo, Japan   
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration   
• National Academy of Sciences   
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration   
• Fort White Global Education Center, Ottawa, Canada   
• Hayden Planetarium, New York   
• Field Museum, Chicago   
• University of Hawaii   
• World Design Forum   
• United Nations Conference on Environment and Development   
• United Nations Environment Program   
• National Center For Supercomputing Applications   
• TERC Symposium on Geographic Information Systems, Washington, D.C.   
• Stanford Research International, Palo Alto   
• National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.   
• Center For Global Community, Kansas City   
• GLOBE International Symposium, Tokyo 

“Tom Van Sant is the only truly modern artist I know.“

-Richard Feynman, Physicist

 Nobel Laureate

“Tom Van Sant is the master of architectural art, transformer of sky art, and the father of space art.“

-Otto Piene, Director

 MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies

“Tom is the greatest kite designer in the world.”

-Don Boulton, President

British Kite flier’s Association 1976

“In one year Tom revolutionized cartography.  He made the first truly new map of the world since the 16th century.”

-Douglas Newman

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

“Tom’s electronic Global Visual Library is the Holy Grail of user interface.”

-Peter Olson, V.P. MCI

“If Leonardo were to come to lunch, I would seat him next to Tom Van Sant.”

-John Svenson, artist-philosopher

“Artists, philosophers and statesmen dream of changing the way we see the world. Tom actually did.”

-Oscar Janiger, Director

 Psychological Research, UC Irvine

“Tom’s Tryon Road residence, designed and built by him at age 29, is one of the 10 best homes in Los Angeles.”

-Jeffrey Lindsay, architectural designer

“Tom’s satellite composite view of Earth has become an iconic image of our time.”

-Al Gore, Vice President of the United States

 Nobel Laureate

“We find ourselves designing buildings to host Tom’s artwork.”

-William L. Pereira, FAIA

website by Merry Marcher