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Adolf Anton Schaller
Updated October 2002
Adolf Anton Schaller is an artist, writer and composer whose work reflects his passion for Greater Nature, as revealed by the discoveries of science. He is best known for his imagery based on science and nature themes. In particular his astronomical art is recognized as amongst the finest and most accurate visualizations of their kind in the world.
First published in 1971 when he was fifteen, Schaller's award-winning work has since appeared in a wide variety of media -- from numerous magazine articles, books, posters and fine-art prints to educational media, planetarium shows and exhibitions, television programs, motion pictures and other productions -- most recently, in the form of electronic media on the Internet and the World Wide Web. He has also designed and prepared artwork and visual effects for a host of 'specialty' venues ranging from music videos and theater productions (including a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical), to 'high-tech' applications such as theme-park simulator rides, 'virtual reality' programs and various computer-generated simulations and 3-dimensional 'multi-plane' animation sequences.
Schaller has received many scholastic, commercial and professional awards. While still in high school in 1974 he received the HALLMARK HONOR PRIZE in the NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC ART COMPETITION for acrylic painting, and in 1980 a work of his was honored by the SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS with an award at their national exhibition that year. The next year Schaller received the 1980-1981 PRIMETIME EMMY AWARD for Outstanding Individual Achievement -- Creative Technical Crafts for his visual effects work on ASTRONOMER CARL SAGAN'S 13-PART PBS TELEVISION PRODUCTION OF COSMOS. His work also figures prominently within and on the cover of SAGAN'S RECORD-BEST-SELLING BOOK COSMOS based on the series.
Following the production of COSMOS, Schaller's work and expertise were widely and increasingly sought after by producers and production studios. In 1982-1983 Schaller designed and supervised the interstellar travel sequences for the MGM MOVIE BRAINSTORM, directed by DOUGLAS TRUMBULL. From 1981 to 1987 he continued to design effects for many television science programs, including the PBS production of PLANET EARTH and the award-winning science writer TIMOTHY FERRIS' THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE, and served as SCIENCE CONSULTANT and TECHNICAL ADVISOR on numerous other television, motion picture and specialized productions dealing with topics ranging from Ancient Greek literature and modern science fiction to the factual sciences of modern physics, natural history and high-technology.
Among the major projects Schaller has contributed to in the final decade of the Millenium were several SKY SHOWS for CHICAGO'S ADLER PLANETARIUM AND ASTRONOMY MUSEUM, including design, preparation and supervision of 3-D Art and Stereo-Photography for the enthusiastically-received 'UPDATE ON THE UNIVERSE', featuring the first astronomically complete 'COSMIC ZOOM' sequence from the Earth to the edge of the Observable Universe in fully 3-DIMENSIONAL STEREO IMAGERY (Spring of 1992), and exhibition/display artwork for the opening of the ADLER PLANETARIUM'S new ASTRONOMY MUSEUM facility over the 1998-1999 Winter season.
Schaller also served informally as Science Consultant and Technical Advisor for the popular recent films CONTACT and ARMAGEDDON, as well as providing those and other productions with numerous original pre-production paintings (1995-1998). In addition, he has illustrated and co-authored the book EXTRATERRESTRIALS: A FIELD GUIDE FOR EARTHLINGS (with Canadian Astronomy Author TERENCE DICKINSON in the Summer of 1994) the rights to which were subsequently purchased by film producer and director STEVEN SPIELBERG's production company DREAMWORKS as the basis for a prospective film.
During 1996-1998, Schaller produced artwork for several books by Dickinson and others. Two paintings he produced during this time represent the most accurate external depiction of our Milky Way Galaxy ever conceived by Terrestrials (namely, Human Beings) incorporating thousands of actual interstellar objects within the Milky Way, realistically mapped into the paintings and derived from data he compiled over the previous two decades.
In June of 2000 Schaller was invited to join OneCosmos, an ambitious project conceived by internet entrepreneur Joe Firmage and Carl Sagan Production's Ann Druyan to "introduce one billion people to the the cosmos by 2004." Unfortunately, that enterprise has failed.
Most recently (Spring of 2001 to the present), Schaller established OmniCosm Studios, together with long-time colleague and co-worker artist Donna Tracy and computer technician Dave Hansen of Applied Micro Incorporated. OmniCosm studios is a company devoted to the popularization and dissemination of science and Nature themes through the arts in particular, and the promotion of artistic integrity and scientific accuracy in commercial media and popular journalism in general. OmniCosm Studios will provide both the unique services and products displaying a standard of quality for which Schaller's work is noted and produce independent projects ranging from books to film productions. Currently under construction, the OmniCosm Studios website was launched in the Spring of 2002 and features a comprehensive sampling of Schaller's work.
In addition to an on-going program of study and concept development between commissions and production projects, Schaller continues to pursue his own interests: In 1988 he moved to rural Wisconsin to devote more time to his personal vision, including -- among his many other interests -- writing, musical composition, amateur astronomy and dabbling in theoretical physics and cosmology. He is currently engaged in assembling material for several new books, and is also working on a number of special projects involving digital/electronic media. On the musical front, he is currently composing his 12th symphony and preparing an ambitious film score suite recounting the evolution of the Universe, with a focus on life on Earth. His special professional/commercial services will remain available internationally through the OmniCosm Studios enterprise.
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The following is an abridged listing of media in which Mr. Schaller's work has appeared:
- Time
- Newsweek
- Reader's Digest
- National Geographic/ World
- Discover
- Scientific American
- American Cinematographer
- Penthouse
- Pacific Discovery
- Omni (US and Geman edition)
- Bild Der Wissenschaft (German "Science Views")
- Cinefex
- Science & Vita Natura (Italian)
- Starlog
- Future (Future Life)
- Final Frontier
- L-5 News
- Ad Astra
- Science News
- Science
- Earth
- Planetary Report
- Astronomy
- Odyssey
- Sky & Telescope
- Sky News
- Star & Sky
- Science 80
- Science Digest
- Typog
...and many others.
BOOKS and OTHER SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
- COSMOS, by Carl Sagan
- EXTRATERRESTRIALS: A FIELD GUIDE FOR EARTHLINGS, by Terence Dickinson and Adolf Schaller
- THE UNIVERSE AND BEYOND, by Terence Dickinson
- SPLENDORS OF THE UNIVERSE, by Terence Dickinson
- NIGHTWATCH, by Terence Dickinson
- EXPLORING THE NIGHT SKY, by Terence Dickinson
- NEW WORLDS: TERRAFORMING THE PLANETS, by James Oberg
- THE EVOLVING UNIVERSE, by Donald Goldsmith
- ASTRONOMY: THE COSMIC JOURNEY, by William K. Hartmann
- MOONS AND PLANETS, by William K. Hartmann
- PLANET EARTH, (adapted from PBS TV Series)
- THE AMAZING UNIVERSE, (National Geographic Special Publication)
- THE BRAIN, (adapted from PBS TV Series)
- SPACE ART, by Ron Miller
- VISIONS OF SPACE, by David Hardy
- SPACE-TIME-INFINITY: THE SMITHSONIAN VIEWS THE UNIVERSE, by James S. Trefil
- Passport to Knowledge's, LIVE FROM THE SUN -- Teacher's Guide & Fact Book, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles & Erna Akuginow, Editors
- A la conquete de MARS, by Olivier de Goursac
- Does the Extra-Terrestrial Exist Somewhere in Space?, by Yukishige Kawasaki
...and others
EDUCATIONAL MEDIA (FILMSTRIPS, SLIDE SETS and POSTERS)
- ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
- CARL SAGAN PRODUCTIONS/PLANETARY SOCIETY
- INTERSTELLAR MEDIA
- NATIONAL MUSEUM of SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ONTARIO
- ADLER PLANETARIUM and ASTRONOMY MUSEUM
- EDMUND SCIENTIFIC COMPANY
- WARD'S EARTH SCIENCE and BIOLOGY
- ASTROMEDIA/KALMBACH
- STARLOG PUBLICATIONS
SELECTED MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTIONS and PROJECTS:
- UPDATE ON THE UNIVERSE: THE UNIVERSE IN 3-D, (1992-1993) Planetarium SkyShow for Chicago's ADLER PLANETARIUM, Featuring First Complete COSMIC ZOOM from Earth to Edge of Observable Universe Rendered in Fully 3-Dimensional Stereo Imagry - Comceptual/Production Storyboards, Design, Preparation and Supervision of over 70 3-D Models and over 900 Separate Pieces of Flat Artwork to Produce 3-D Stereo-Pair Slide-Projected Multiplane Images/Scientific Consultant and Technical Advisor.
- JOURNEY TO THE FOURTH DIMENSION, HARPER FILMS Production - Digital Visual Effects Sequence, Conceptual and Production Art and Technical Advisor.
- THE COMETS ARE COMING!, (1996-1997) Planetarium SkyShow Written for the ADLER PLANETARIUM by David Levy, Co-Discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, Featuring Limited-Animation Visual Effects Sequence depicting the Impact of Primary Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Fragment Into Jupiter's Atmosphere, and Featuring Artwork heralding the Approach of Comet Hale-Bopp - Conceptual/Production Storyboards, Design, Preparation and Supervision of Artwork and Photography for Visual Effects Sequence/ Scientific Consultant & Technical Advisor.
- STARS AND THEIR ORIGIN: CLOUDS OF FIRE, (1998) Planetarium SkyShow for the ADLER PLANETARIUM AND ASTRONOMY MUSEUM - Visual Effects Sequence and Artwork/ Science and Technical Consultant.
- ADLER PLANETARIUM AND ASTRONOMY MUSEUM - SOLAR SYSTEM/PLANETS and MILKY WAY GALAXY EXHIBITION GALLERIES, (1998-1999) Permanent Gallery/Exhibitions installed in ADLER PLANETARIUM'S new ASTRONOMY MUSEUM Facility, Scheduled to Open to the Public in January 1999, Featuring Specially-Reproduced Artwork Conceived and Produced by Adolf Schaller. Included in the Exhibition is a Reproduction of Schaller's Painting of the Milky Way Galaxy, Celebrated as the Most Accurate Depiction of Our Galaxy As Seen From The Outside Ever Visualized and Containing Over 1500 Real Galactic Objects Accurately Mapped Into the Painting - Chief Artist, Preliminary Conceptual Design and Preparation of Original Artwork (Comprising over 150 Separate Paintings, Reproduced and Composited into Dozens of Gallery Display Elements)/ Scientific Consultant and Technical Advisor.
- EARTHSHIP, (2001) -- Animation sequences and technical consultant for director James Cameron's prospective television special.
THEATER (Painted Scenic Backdrops):
- GOSPEL AT COLONUS, TONY-AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL Starring Morgan Freeman, Directed by Lee Brewer; with Art Director Alison Yerxa - Preliminary Conceptual Art and Modeling, Supervision of Giant Scenic Backdrop Murals/Technical Advisor.
- WARRIOR ANT, With Art Director Alison Yerxa - Preparation of Scenic Backdrop Murals/ Technical Advisor.
PAST & PRESENT EXHIBITIONS OF ORIGINAL ART:
- ADLER PLANETARIUM and ASTRONOMY MUSEUM, Chicago, Illinois - Permanent Display
- GRACE H. FLANDREAU PLANETARIUM, Tuscon, Arizona - Permanent Display
- GATES PLANETARIUM, Denver, Colorado
- GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY, Los Angeles, California
- YERKES OBSERVATORY, Williams Bay, Wisconsin
- ASTROMEDIA/KALMBACH, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- BRANDYWINE GALLERY, Chicago, Illinois
- THE SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS, ANNUAL NATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1980
CORPORATE and INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS of MR. SCHALLER'S ORIGINAL ART:
- SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE/NASA (Digital Art)
- ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANICA
- NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
- ADLER PLANETARIUM and ASTRONOMY MUSEUM (UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO)
- FLANDREAU PLANETARIUM (UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA)
- DREAMWORKS
- WARNER BROTHERS
- METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS
- PARAMOUNT STUDIOS
- UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
- KCET-TV LOS ANGELES (PBS)
- CARL SAGAN PRODUCTIONS/PLANETARY SOCIETY
- INTERSTELLAR MEDIA
- BLUESKY/VIFX
- SHOWSCAN
- ROBERT LAWRENCE PRODUCTIONS
- HARPER FILMS
- KALMBACH (ASTROMEDIA)
- EDMUND SCIENTIFIC COMPANY
- JOHN ALLISON COMPANY
- EEG and THE CHANDLER GROUP
- STARLOG/FUTURE LIFE
- DIAMOND CINEMA
and others...
SELECTED PERSONAL COLLECTIONS of MR. SCHALLER'S ORIGINAL ARTWORK:
- TERENCE DICKINSON
- CARL SAGAN and ANN DRUYAN
- MALCOLM CURRIE
- STEVEN SPIELBERG
- DOUGLAS TRUMBULL
- DONALD GOLDSMITH
- JAMES OBERG
- TIMOTHY FERRIS
- GEOFFREY HAINES-STYLES
- GENTRY LEE
- DAVID MORRISON
- WILLIAM K. HARTMANN
- PETE VON SHOLLY
- DON DAVIS
- RON MILLER
- JOHN ALLISON and ROBIN SNELSON
- ALISON YERXA
- PAUL ROY
- GREG and MERIDETH JOHNSON
- DAVE HANSEN
- DONNA TRACY
and many others...
TELEVISION PROGRAMS, COMMERCIAL BROADCASTS and OTHER VIDEO
- COSMOS, with CARL SAGAN (1978-1980) - EMMY AWARD-WINNING 13-Part PBS SERIES produced by KCET-TV Los Angeles, Directed and Produced by Adrian Malone ('The Ascent of Man', with Jacob Bronowski) - Design, Preparation and Supervision of Visual Effects/Scientific Consultant and Conceptual & Technical Advisor, for which Schaller received The 1980-1981 Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement, Creative Technical Crafts. The first episode of the series, 'The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean', premiered nationally on the evening of September 29, 1980.
- PLANET EARTH, PBS SERIES (1981-1982) - Design, Preparation and Supervision of Visual Effects/Scientific Consultant & Technical Advisor.
- THE BRAIN, PBS SERIES (1982) - Design and Preparation of Visual Effects/Conceptual & Technical Advisor.
INFINITE VOYAGE, PBS SERIES (1982-1983) - Design and Preparation of Visual Effects Art and Models/Scientific Consultant & Technical Advisor.
- THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE, with TIMOTHY FERRIS (1985-1986) - PBS PRODUCTION, Directed and Produced by Jeffrey Haines-Stiles - Production Storyboards, Design and Preparation of Visual Effects Art and Supervision of Computer Animation Sequences/Conceptual & Technical Advisor.
- THE ASTRONOMERS, conceived by DONALD GOLDSMITH (1993) - PBS SERIES - Art Prepared for Computer Animation Sequence.
- EARTH EXPLORED, PBS SERIES (1987-1990) - Art Prepared for Visual Effects Sequences.
UNDERSTANDING EXTRATERRESTRIALS, 'THE LEARNING CHANNEL' PRODUCTION (1997-1998), produced by Cronkite-Ward in concert with Discovery Communications Inc. as part of the Discovery Network, Executive Producers Jonathan Ward and Chris Sporleder and Executive Editor Walter Cronkite - Art Designed and Prepared for Visual Effects Sequences/Scientific Consultant & Technical Advisor.
EARTHSHIP, (2002 -- see above under Selected Productions and Projects).
- ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL/SPACE SHUTTLE, Commercial - Conceptual/Production Storyboards, Design, Preparation and Supervision of Visual Effects.
UNITED CALIFORNIA BANK, Commercial - Conceptual/Production Storyboards, Design, Preparation and Supervision of Visual Effects.
- ZZ TOP, MTV Music Video - Visual Effects Design and Art Preparation.
...and many other video productions, commercials, and television programs
SELECTED MOTION PICTURES and OTHER PRODUCTIONS BASED ON FILM
Selected examples of recent work (2001-2002):
Imagery:
- Space Telescope Science Institute/NASA - preparation of 2 digital paintings illustrating recent discoveries made by astronomers using the famous space-borne telescope, used for STScI/NASA press releases announcing these discoveries. The first painting was executed in late 2001 and depicts intense "starburst" activity within young galaxies early in the history of the universe; the second painting, produced in the Spring of 2002, depicts the formation of the globular cluster Messier 4 at roughly the same time.
- Private Commission: for British astronomer Malcolm Currie, 2 "conventional" paintings depicting galactic subjects, 30x40 inches and 20x26 inches. The large painting depicts a populous galaxy cluster as seen from the vantage point of an interstellar asteroid and contains over 1200 painted galaxies. The smaller painting depicts the giant spiral galaxy NGC 6872.
Musical Compositions:
- Violin-Viola Concerto in 4 movements; Three Chapters of the 7-Chapter orchestral suite, "The Pageant of Life."
Writings:
- Consultant with British astronomy writer Richard Bartlett, on an article recounting some of the visual effects production performed on Carl Sagan's Cosmos tv series, appearing in the September issue of Astronomy magazine.
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