ARTISTIC EGOS OR COSMIC MESSAGES? | WHY SENDING ART INTO SPACE DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
by Saidat Animasaun
Two weeks ago, a successful businessman turned artist, Jeff Koons, launched 125, one-inch miniature Moon sculptures, each representing the different phases of the moon and respectively carved with names of key cultural and historical figures such as Mozart and Cleopatra. These sculptures were sent out to space on a lunar lander known as Nova C (Odysseus).
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It is difficult to comprehend why someone would use up finite resources to create a piece like this if not to conceitedly make a statement. Perhaps the concept of sending your work out into the vacuum of space where it is unlikely to be discovered is the goal. Alternatively, it could be seen as a power statement, suggesting that the artist has excessive funds at their disposal to spend their work into space, exhausting fossil fuels, just to say they have done so. The question remains: How does a project like this contribute to bridging the gap between art and technology and encourage the evolution of art mediums?
Let’s discuss Jon Lomberg’s ‘Golden Record’. This metal disk was sent into space on the Voyager 1 as a time capsule to introduce alien beings to Earth’s sounds and images. While this concept may not be entirely effective, as there’s no guarantee that the
Jeff Koons,
photograph by Sabastian Kim/August Image, LLC
discs will be accessible or understandable to aliens, it stands a better chance of being appreciated for its conceptual essence.
Certainly, collaborations between the Art and STEM industries should be more mainstream as many technologically advanced art pieces influence and evolve both communities and entice a more interesting future. For example, motion-censored spray paint cans that are activated and controlled by paint keys. A project like this is promising in that it engages three different industries, whereas, in contrast, I strongly believe that the projects mentioned earlier do not contribute much to society especially not in the way they have been portrayed and advertised.
The topic of artists sending things to space raises questions about the selection process and the responsibility of deciding who or what gets preserved. For instance, Koons had to choose 125 names to inscribe on his miniature sculptures, and Lomberg could only include a number of images on his record. These decisions are significant and carry a huge responsibility to decide what should be preserved for future generations. The fact that only certain individuals get to make such decisions is biased and unbalances the scales of fairness.
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This is also evident in the way scholars, both past and present have a biased right of opinion in deciding what gets written down and what gets excluded in history books meant to be passed down to the upcoming generations. This often results in the erasure of whole identities from history. Out of all the key cultural and historical figures, only 125 mattered enough to Koons and his team to have their names preserved in sculpture. This raises questions about the demographics of these figures compared to the countless others who have existed throughout history. Similarly, in Lomberg’s record, only a select amount of images and sounds were chosen to represent the entire human race. Out of all the images ever taken, only those favoured by Lomberg and his team were chosen, giving them complete control over the representation of our planet and the human race as a whole. This kind of power play can be easily manipulated which is a strong cause for concern.
Images on The Golden Record | Credit: NASA/JPL
This situation is rather complex. As humans, we may feel insignificant in the vast universe, yet we also value our superiority as a species. Engaging in projects that affect our environment can challenge our perceptions of ourselves and our place in the world. However, this does not justify thoughtlessly harming our planet or being wasteful with our natural resources to create thought-provoking art.