Moonwalk by Andy Warhol

This is another piece I saw at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s NASA art exhibit — one genuine Warhol. (I thought I’d better post something Apollo-ish; been a little shuttle-happy lately!)

This review sums it up pretty well:

“By the time you’re finished assembling paper models of spacecraft from the book’s meticulously die-cut blueprints, you’ll be intimately familiar with many of the details of 20 different iconic spacecraft, as well as the broad arc of space exploration history and the basic principles of spaceflight. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s certainly a blast.” ~SeedMagazine.com

I don’t often plug things so heavily, but if I had a little space cadet, I’d be buying them this for Christmas. It utterly charmed me — a delightful gift for any age!

This article on fantastically-talented miniaturist Willard Wigan is definitely worth a look, if only for the slideshow! Shown here is his miniature of Buzz Aldrin, which rests in the eye of a needle (and can fit on the head of a pin.)

Hat tip to doctorlinguist for the article!

The astronauts were international celebrities. A goodwill tour carried them to 24 countries and 27 cities in 45 days. Thousands swarmed them during a parade in Mexico City on September 23, 1969.

So you’ve seen all the iconic Apollo 11 photos. Odds are, in the media and such, you’re seeing them right now, and will do so for the next month. Well here’s a smattering you’ve probably NEVER seen — *I* certainly had not seen them, until now — showing the befores and afters of America’s first moon-landing mission. (Link via Flight Plan.)

The above photo is my favorite of the bunch — astronauts in sombreros, lol — and below, I had to include a photo of Mr. Enigmatic, Neil Armstrong:

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, seen with the helicopter he flew to practice landing the Lunar Module.

This happened last month: “hackers” at MIT put a scale model of the “Eagle” Apollo moon lander on the Great Dome. (I remember, a while back now, seeing the Great Dome mocked up as R2D2 and it was FANTASTIC. Clever students… clever, clever hacks.)

Anyway, this week I’ve posted gobs of pictures already, so how about some link spam instead? For instance: Long distance space travel leaves you short, fat and ugly, claim scientists (I love Britain.) Also, I saw this fantastic moon painting earlier this week but I couldn’t find a larger image, and MySpace scares me. And for those of you that didn’t know it already, Buzz Aldrin is a sharp-dressed man with a spiffy watch.

This is the “First Step” video for Louis Vuitton Journeys alluded to in yesterday’s post — I was going to tack this on at the bottom, but I wanted the video to have it’s own entry. It’s marvelous, and I hope you watch it, because in it, you get to see astronauts, some of the great people of our time, being profoundly human.

Jim Lovell (Apollo 13, which did not land on the moon) looks at his companions and says, “Why me? Why on 13? Why not wait ’til 14, or do it on 12?” He and his fellow crew members performed admirably and were able to get back home against overwhelming odds, but in this video — and mind you, this is just a small part, but it struck me — you see something in his eyes and his voice that is singularly familiar. “WHY ME?” “WHAT are the ODDS..???” We’ve all felt like that.

I just want to say that Sally Ride is charming and beautiful. I haven’t seen a picture of her in a while, and she’s cute and down to earth. I’d like to give her a big hug. What a tremendous role model she is for young women, especially given her grace and humility.

I leave you with a quote by Buzz Aldrin, from the end of the video:

“So what did I know how to do? Be a space man. Think about the future.”
— Buzz Aldrin

Hat tip to Lunar Pioneer for this one!

Louis Vuitton, purveyor of very expensive handbags, is launching a new ad campaign tomorrow featuring Sally Ride, Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell… in some of the most exquisite portraiture I’ve seen, hands-down. (Looking at LV’s “Previous Journeys” section, I see that these spacefarers are featured alongside movie stars, directors and the like, which pleases me. Any company placing astronauts on the same level as Sean Connery is okay by me. Not that I could ever afford one of their lovely handbags, but whatever.)

This triple portrait is so striking: majestic, filled with longing and new hopes… windswept and moonlit. A triptych of heros presented in regular dress, wistfully looking to the stars as so many of us do. And yes I realize this shot is modified digitally, but I really don’t care — I’m talking composition and message, here. The photographer, Annie Leibovitz, is an artist in every sense of the word, and this portrait is ART.

The ad campaign is set to launch tomorrow, and I hope to add more photos from this shoot if they’re available. Will post if I find some!

ETA: I found an article which has much more information on the ad campaign here. According to this source, the official site launch is July 2, at which time there will be full, downloadable interview footage from the astronaut shoot and more. I am very much looking forward to this. At present the article only mentions the ad appearing in “international magazines”, so I hope the Internet gets more specific so I can go out and buy a copy!