Artist Jeff Koons sent his work to the moon – News

Each mini-moon sculpture is engraved with the name of a prominent figure

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One of the most expensive contemporary artists in the world Jeff Koons sent his series of sculptures to the moon.

Koons packed his creation in a clear plastic box and sent it into space aboard the Odyssey, which began its journey on February 15 and landed this Thursday, February 22, reports CNN.

After the landing of “Odyssey”, the artist published a post on his Instagram, where he called the landing on the moon “an amazing achievement”. He also noted that it is a “great honor” for him to be involved in the mission.

In Koons’ social networks, you can take a detailed look at the work he sent into outer space. It is called “Phases of the Moon” and consists of 125 mini-sculptures showing 62 phases of the Moon visible from Earth, 62 phases visible from other points in space and one lunar eclipse.

Each mini-moon sculpture is engraved with the name of a prominent figure in human history from various times, including Aristotle, David Bovi, Leonardo da Vinci, Gandhi, Gabriel García Márquez, Andy Warhol, Mohammed Ali, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Virginia Woolf, and more.

According to the statement of the artist’s gallery, the author “drew inspiration from the moon as a symbol of curiosity and determination“. “Full of hope and transcendence, his new project offers viewers a sense of perspective on their place in the vast universe, prompting deep thought and contemplation.“, – is noted there.

To make this project also commercially successful, Koons produced larger copies of his “Phases of the Moon”. They are made of reflective stainless steel and will be decorated with a diamond, sapphire or ruby ​​at the Odyssey landing site. Those interested will also be able to purchase NFTs (a unique digital copy of a work of art, built on the basis of blockchain technology) of each sculpture.

Not the first art on the moon

The work of Koons is not the first work of art that was sent to the surface of the moon. In 1971, the Apollo 15 crew left an aluminum figure by Belgian artist Paul Van Hooydonk there, along with a plaque commemorating the astronauts who died in the line of duty.

It is also believed that two years before that, a joint work of six famous artists was secretly sent into space on Apollo 12: Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, John Chamberlain, Claes Oldenburg, Forrest Myers and David Nowros. It was called “Museum on the Moon” and had the appearance of tiny ceramic tiles with drawings by each of the artists.