National Air and Space Museum aquires 3 artworks for permanent collection
"Michael Najjarâs photographs from the "outer space" series are a superb acquisition bringing an innovative interpretation of the contemporary space traveler to the museums collection. His photographs offer an interplay of reality and conceptualization, conjuring futuristic spaceflight scenes reminiscent in science fiction and space art. More so, this photography gives authentic glimpses of the Russian cosmonaut training facilities at Star City as art, and Najjar himself in the roles of artist and astronaut/cosmonaut."
Carolyn Russo, Curator of Art, National Air and Space Museum
"liquid gravity" (2013)The National Air and Space Museum's art collection comprises over 8,000 works of art on the subject of human flight. The museum was established in 1946 in Washington D. C. and opened its main building at the famous National Mall in 1976. It is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and spaceflight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics. With more than 7 million visitors per year it is the most visited museum in the United States.
The museum's collection is best known for its unique collection of rare and historically significant aircraft and spacecraft such as the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia,
the Friendship 7 capsule which was flown by John Glenn, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1 which broke the sound barrier, the model of the starship Enterprise from the Star Trek TV series and the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer airplane. The collection includes thousands of additional artifactsâincluding engines, rockets, uniforms, spacesuits, balloons, artwork, documents, manuscripts, and photographsâdocument the richness of the history of flight.
Michael's work will be on permanent display as soon as the renovation of the new art gallery is finished.