lunar explorers

2019

Format 1 (triptych): 132 x 394 cm / 52 x 155 in, edition of 6 + 2 AP
Format 2 (triptych): 67 x 200 cm / 26.4 x 78.7 in, edition of 6 + 2 AP
Hybrid photography, archival pigment print, aludibond, diasec, custom-made aluminium frame

July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s first moon landing in the Sea of Tranquillity, one of the most challenging adventures in human history. During six NASA missions from 1969 to 1972, a roll-call of twelve men landed, walked, drove and worked on the moon: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Harrison Schmitt, and Eugene Cernan. The successive Apollo crews brought a wealth of scientific instruments to the moon®s surface and performed hundreds of experiments, monitored from Earth by radio telemetry, which have revolutionized our understanding of the celestial body and its relationship to Earth. However, the most significant tangible objects obtained from the moon landings and the Apollo program may well be those photos showing how our Earth appears from the surface of the moon. Looking homeward from that great distance and seeing the Earth as a tiny precious oasis of life lost in the vastness of space has generated a totally new sense of what it means to be human. The Apollo program has created a very profound shift in our anthropological perspective, as suddenly and for the first time we can actually see that we are all one planet and one intricately interconnected ecosystem.

The artwork “lunar explorers” is a homage to the first moon landing 50 years ago and the twelve moonwalkers, the most important explorers of the last century. Equipped with Hasselblad cameras, the Apollo astronauts took thousands of photographs; these unprocessed versions of original NASA scans are the source material on which this artwork is based. The composition of the lunar landscape highlights the emptiness of the virgin territory but also the first scientific human activities on another celestial body. The artwork shows the twelve astronauts walking and working together on the lunar surface, conducting experiments, collecting rock samples, driving around with the lunar rover and taking pictures. The left panel of the triptych features the crew of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin; while the right panel shows the Apollo 17 crew, Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon to date. The centrepiece is given to the other eight astronauts and their diverse activities and technical installations. The grey tones of the arid lunar landscape contrast with the shimmering blue of the Earth that appears as a far distant home while the antenna of the Lunar Rover Vehicle directed at Earth seems a point of connection between our home planet and these extraterrestrial activities. For centuries, fascination with the moon has created an ideal realm in which our imaginations and phantasies about the expansion of human presence in outer space may freely roam. The moon landing was such a tremendously inspirational event because it demonstrated that human beings can accomplish seemingly impossible ventures when they come together and work for something that’s much bigger than themselves. Of the 12 Apollo astronauts shown in this artwork, only four are still alive today.

Imprint

Personally liable:
Michael Najjar

Design concept & coding: Matthias Hübner, possible.is
with support by Marco Land

Disclaimer
Accountability for content
The contents of our pages have been created with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the contents' accuracy, completeness or topicality. According to statutory provisions, we are furthermore responsible for our own content on these web pages. In this context, please note that we are accordingly not obliged to monitor merely the transmitted or saved information of third parties, or investigate circumstances pointing to illegal activity. Our obligations to remove or block the use of information under generally applicable laws remain unaffected by this as per §§ 8 to 10 of the Telemedia Act (TMG).

Accountability for links
Responsibility for the content of external links (to web pages of third parties) lies solely with the operators of the linked pages. No violations were evident to us at the time of linking. Should any legal infringement become known to us, we will remove the respective link immediately.

Copyright
Our web pages and their contents are subject to German copyright law. Unless expressly permitted by law (§ 44a et seq. of the copyright law), every form of utilizing, reproducing or processing works subject to copyright protection on our web pages requires the prior consent of the respective owner of the rights. Unauthorized utilization of copyrighted works is punishable (§ 106 of the copyright law).

Our newsletter

With our newsletter we inform you about us and our offers and events, art fair participations and exhibitions in galleries, museums and art institutions. If you register for our newsletter, we will save your e-mail address, first name(s) and last name, as well as any information you choose to provide on a purely voluntary basis. If you do not wish to consent to this, you can unsubscribe by using the link at the end of every newsletter.

You can revoke your consent to the storage of your data, e-mail address and the use of your data to send the newsletter at any time. This revocation can be effected by notifying us: studio@michaelnajjar.com

In the course of the further development of our website, changes to this privacy policy may become necessary. We therefore recommend that you reread this data protection statement from time to time.