Lunar Procession (detail)
I am a child of the space program. Ask anyone who knows me, they will attest to this. When I was growing up kids my age were promised space exploration and possibly colonization, as this was truly the newest part of our existence we could explore. We were also feed images and ideas of this; Major Matt Mason, Star Trek, Silent Running, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apollo, Gemini, Mercury, Soyuz, Gagarin, Armstrong and Laika. We all know there are thousands more – maybe you had them in your childhood as well. The amazing future that NASA presented me as a child is in no way keeping with the NASA we live with today.
Which bring me to Kahn and Selesnick: “The Apollo Prophecies”.
A quick story is necessary to be told about the images before encountering them, although not critical, it does add a degree of deeper understanding to the viewing experience. The Apollo Prophecies depicts, in long panoramic images, an expedition of 1960s American astronauts who arrive on the moon to find a lost mission of Edwardian space-travellers. To the stranded Edwardians, the Americans are long-awaited gods – the fulfillment of prophecies revealed to them many years before.
That is the germane kernel of knowledge needed to enjoy these images to the fullest.
I was recently made aware of these images at the AQUA fair in Miami, they struck me like a version of what might be called “steampunk” (a version of science fiction set in the past with technology built with that days technology – steam engines, radiators, etc, but these could make computers, cars, rocketships, etc.) and in a way they are – however with this fable attached to them they become much more interesting.
The images are panoramic in approach most are 12″ X 70″ Each image is either a major event or a story cycle that carries you to the next image. Each image is perfectly built so that it feels “real” as well as fake, but fake in the right way. (if that makes a bit of sense). The staging of these with the forced horizon edge curving under the characters of the images with the edwardian looking space gear makes for a experience that you are indeed looking at a smaller planet than earth, so does the fact that everyone is wearing a space helmet of some kind. The built wood and metal structures, organic Edwardian outfits retro-fitted with space helmets and breathing apparatus bring to mind Jules Verne pushed through a science fiction story.
Today I hold a grudge at the future that was promised and eventually denied, These images that rework the NASA mythos are unexpected and brilliant. They might very well be a metaphor for the lack of exploration we are now engaged in and the way we could be seen in the not too near future. Regardless they are a masterful and eccentric approach to narrative and image making.
Please Note: Yes, I am aware of Spaceship 1 and the recent attempt to privatize space, it’s really not the same as NASA and the Soviet program of the 60’s and 70’s. Todays astronauts wear polo shirts and jumpsuits, more importantly they are made to seem smaller than the technology – a unheroic stance and screaming of “the wrong stuff”.
For more detail on Kahn and Selesnick, please follow this link