They Say They Put a Man on the Moon

Fallen Astronaut Violence, Bodies, and Moon Art

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Bent Srensen, Aalborg Uniersity, !en"ar#
The only piece of art on the moon is a 3-tall aluminium sculpture titled Fallen Astronaut. It was
created by Belgian artist Paul Van oeydonc! and installed by "pollo #$ astronaut %a&id 'cott( along
with a pla)ue bearing the names of the #* astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the ser&ice of space
e+ploration prior to #,-#.. This surprising message on a website called The Proceedings of the
Athanasius Kircher Society captured my imagination( as the art piece in )uestion seems to raise a
number of issues of rele&ance for this conference with its theme/ "merican bodies( "merican &iolence.
0irst of all( the art-wor! is commemorati&e in nature( as is much "merican art honouring the heroic(
&iolently dead. 1ften such art uses the body metonymically in its representation strategy.
'econdly( the role of the astronaut in 2installing3 the art-wor! raises interesting issues about the
production of art and agency &is-4-&is an indi&idual piece.
Third( the role of the spectator or audience for this wor! seems particularly problematic 5 after all the
piece is on the 6oon and has ne&er been re&isited( seen or documented since its original installation( or
to be e&en more precise( may &ery li!ely no longer be intact( gi&en the e+treme temperature spectrum
#
of the en&ironment it was placed in and the lac! of a protecti&e atmosphere up there. The moon( in
other words seems a particularly &iolent milieu for a wor! of art to be in.
0ourth( ta!ing into consideration that the piece itself is not on public display and !nown to us
e+clusi&ely through its mediated forms( to wit( photos !ept in 7"'"3s archi&es and reproduced in
&arious ways on web sites and in other mass media( and replicas of the sculpture found at the
'mithsonian Institution3s 7ational "ir and 'pace 6useum in 8ashington( %9( we are forced to reflect
on wherein the piece really consists/ oeydonc!3s preparation of the figurine :apparently not
documented; and the astronauts3 construction of the pla)ue :not documented;( the original gesture of
installation performed by 'cott when he dropped the figurine into the moon dust in #,-# :not preser&ed
in images and 2co&ered3 by inane communication with <round 9ontrol on the audio tape;( the act of
documenting the piece with a camera( performed by 'cott immediately after the installation( or the act
of publici=ing the performance which the astronauts carried out at their press conference after returning
to >arth 5 or all of the abo&e.
0ifth( the apparently simple homage to heroism embedded in the installation seems to be problemati=ed
by the peculiar contract between Van oeydonc! and the "pollo #$ crew not to ma!e money off the
e&ent( the piece or replicas thereof 5 and not least the fact that this contract was apparently bro!en by
Van oeydonc! in #,-? when he too! steps to sell ,$@ signed replicas of the piece at -$@A a pop.
There is thus a tension between publici=ing the piece( which the astronauts clearly desired to do( and
ma!ing money off the piece( which could potentially be used to support the families of the fallen( but
which at least in the official story was anathema to the astronauts.
'i+th( and finally( the fact that the names on the memorial pla)ue are those of both "merican astronauts
and Bussian cosmonauts points to a surprisingly political gesture on the part of the "pollo #$ crew/ in
the midst of the 9old 8ar space race this reminder of the shared respect for the profession of space
tra&eller and fellow soldier har!s bac! to traditions from other wars where soldiers from the warring
sides found a common ground and respect( before proceeding again to attempt to slaughter one another.
Thus( rather than a gesture of dCtente( the inclusion of Bussian names in an "merican memorial is a
nostalgic gesture bac!ward to 2good3 wars of the past where enemies were also fellow human beings 5
an innocence the loss of which was mar!ed by 88 II :olocaust and iroshima; and pro&ed gone for
good by the horrors of Vietnam.
?
The representation of the fallen body :both fallen in the sense of literally dropped from a height( and of
course fallen in the metaphorical sense of !illed in the line of duty; in the piece also seems problematic
in interesting ways. 1ne thing is that the figurine seems to consist of torso( legs and head only( which
has prompted wits on the web to comment/ 2<reat( now the aliens will thin! that we humans ha&e no
arms or hands3( but perhaps more strangely the figure bears &ery little resemblance to a man in an
actual astronautDcosmonaut suit. Bather the figure resembles a toy a child might want to play with( and
&ery much loo!s its actual petite si=e of all of three inches( ma!ing this piece one of the smallest wor!s
of memorial art in e+istenceE It is understandable that the figure had to be small to be carried
concealed to the moon :li!e the stamped en&elopes the astronauts wanted to flog to philatelists around
the globe( the pieces of the art wor! were not declared among the astronauts3 personal belongings upon
embar!ing on the mission;( but the minuscule figure seems to be the antithesis of the usually larger
than life human figures customarily used in memorial art. The entire scale of the piece( including the
pla)ue( is in star! contrast to the monumental si=e used in most memorials( for instance the 'pace
6irror 6emorial which was placed at the Fennedy 'pace 9enter in 0lorida in #,,# and which features
a *? G foot high by $@-foot wide blac! granite surface( listing the names of ?* fallen "merican
astronauts. Thus the >arth-based memorial appropriately signals considerably more gra&itas than the
6oon-based miniature does.
"pollo #$ was the *th successful moon landing mission carried out by 7"'". 'ince 7eil "rmstrong3s
2one small step for a man3 in #,H,( $ other astronauts had set foot on the lunar surface( prior to %a&id
'cott and Iames B. Irwin3s &isit in Iuly and "ugust of #,-#. "pollo #$ was the first moon mission to
bring a &ehicle( the 0alcon Junar Bo&er( to the surface of the 6oon( and one celebrated photo of the
astronauts and their 9or&ettes together with the Junar Bo&er indicates the lin! between "merican car
culture and the con)uest and desired "mericani=ation of the 6oon. Knbe!nownst to 7"'" the
astronauts of "pollo #$ seem to ha&e carefully planned a secondary agenda to their 6oon mission.
>ach astronaut was allowed to carry a so-called PPF :Pilot3s Preference Fit; containing personal items
and other obLects destined to become memorabilia after the flight. It was customary for 7"'" to allow
each astronaut a great deal of discretion regarding the nature of these personal items. The "pollo #$
crew was unusual in at least two perspecti&es in their choice of PPF content. 0irst( they carried with
them a great many stamps and en&elopes which they intended to sell to philatelists and the profits from
3
which they intended to use for trust funds for their children3s education. In this sense the astronauts
were good "mericans in the way they showed entrepreneurial instincts and understood the intricate
lin!s between fortune and fame. 'econd( and more uni)uely( the astronauts had decided that( in the face
of the near fatality of the "pollo #3 mission and the Iune #,-# deaths of the entire 'o&iet 'oyu= ##
crew( the time was o&erdue to honour the numerous heroes who had died in the course of the history of
the two competing space programs.
0or that purpose the astronauts had a pla)ue manufactured listing the names of all !nown dead
astronauts and cosmonauts( plus they contracted with a semi-obscure Belgian artist( Paul Van
oeydonc!( to create a figurine representing the body of a fallen astronaut( lea&ing out all identifying
signs of nationality( gender and race of the figure. Because of 7"'"3s strong insistence on the non-
commercial nature of space :something that did not bother the astronauts in their stamp enterprise; Van
oeydonc! had to agree to anonymity and to refrain from later trying to capitali=e on the art piece.
"fter the stamp scandal was re&ealed by 7"'"3s post-mission audit( it is hardly surprising that Van
oeydonc! no longer felt duty-bound by his agreement with the crew.
7"'" !eeps &ery meticulous and &oluminous documentations of all their missions( not least of the
"pollo era flights. " sound log( a TV( film and photo image log( as well as transcripts of these logs are
a&ailable from 7"'"3s web site. 0rom the audio transcript it is clear that 'cott and Irwin who were on
the lunar surface deliberately !ept ground control in the dar! as to their intent to install the 0allen
"stronaut memorial on the lunar surface. The installation too! place shortly before the crew was
scheduled to depart the 6oon. "mong the last acti&ities prior to lift-off was 'cott going to par! the
Junar Bo&er in its final resting place and to position the TV camera to shoot footage of the lift-off. In
the meantime Irwin was loading moon-roc! specimens into the lunar landing module. 8hen as!ed by
ground control( who were pu==led by long pauses in 'cott3s communication with them( to account for
his present acti&ity.( 'cott fibs/ 1h( Lust cleaning up the bac! of the Bo&er( here( a little( Ioe.. In
reality he was setting up the art piece and ta!ing high )uality photos of the scene. There are ? photos of
the pla)ue showing behind the Junar Bo&er and ? close-up photos of the piece itself. 'cott has
commented on the transcripts of the sound log( published in the "pollo #$ Junar 'urface Iournal/ We
made a plaque for all the astronauts and cosmonauts that had been killed. And a little figurine, a
Fallen Astronaut, and e put it right by the !o"er. #ou can see it in the picture. That as $ust a little
memorial, in alphabetical order. %n relati"e terms, e had both Mmeaning the Bussians and the
*
"mericansN lost a lot and, interestingly enough, e didn&t lose any more after that until 'hallenger.
That&s hat % as doing hen % said % as cleaning up behind the !o"er. (im kne hat % as doing.
We $ust thought e&d recogni)e the guys that made the ultimate contribution.
"nother aspect of the memorial acti&ities performed by 'cott in this connection must be discussed.
This is not mentioned in the sound log( nor is it referred to in the commentary cited abo&e( and
apparently therefore ne&er hitherto been considered as an e+tension of the installation of the 0allen
"stronaut. owe&er( from se&eral of the astronaut memoirs a&ailable and from letters written by Irwin(
it is !nown that 'cott also placed a small copy of the Bible( bound in a red co&er( on the Junar Bo&er.
In enlargements of the final Junar Bo&er photographs the Bible can be spotted propped up against the
dri&e control handle. Thus the memorial ser&ice for the fallen is completed with the presence of
scripture as is fit for such a ceremony. "s 'cott commented abo&e( Irwin !new about 'cott3s acti&ities(
and I am confident that he also !new about the presence of the Bible( and perhaps supplied the boo!
himself. It is well !nown that Irwin was a practicing 9hristian and se&eral of his boo!s testify to this
fact :at least one is published by The Baptist 'unday 'chool Board;( and he has stated( without
specifying the nature of these obLects( that he also left se&eral obLects on the lunar surface near the
Janding 6odule. 1ne might speculate that these obLects also testify to the 9hristian faith of the
astronauts( complementing the nationalist sentiment of the "merican flags routinely planted and left
behind on the "pollo missions. 1f course( the presence of the Bible as part of the installation changes
the tenor of the piece as a wor! of art( rendering it far more con&entional and ceremonial than what has
pre&iously been noticed by the relati&ely few commentators who ha&e written about the e&ent( and who
ha&e tended to inscribe the 0allen "stronaut in a more a&ant-garde push toward con)uering a new
frontier for art( rather than seeing the piece as ha&ing a commemorati&e and &oti&e function. owe&er(
'cott3s comment that interestingly enough( we didnOt lose any more after that until 9hallenger.
indicates clearly that the performance of the 0allen "stronaut was also intended to ward off future e&il(
and therefore is best regarded as a religious ceremony.
The astronauts thus seem caught between desiring an intensely pri&ate communion with their ma!er
and their dead mates on the one hand( and the ob&ious need to publici=e the ceremony on the other(
since a; the news would clearly come out :at least within 7"'"; once the photos were brought bac! to
>arth and de&eloped and b; the effect of the installation presupposed that it had an actual audience. The
co&ert acti&ities thus needed unco&ering( and the astronauts decided to use the first occasion they
$
would ha&e to address the public to brea! the news of the 0allen "stronaut. The first post splash-down
press conference was an ob&ious choice of &enue( since the astronauts would not yet ha&e been
debriefed by 7"'" and censorship was therefore out of the )uestion. 7"'" was conse)uently faced
with a de facto admission which needed careful spin. The policy decided upon was apparently to( on
the one hand( condone the seeming gesture of reconciliation between 9old 8ar foes :the press
conference footage was included in the official 7"'" mission &ideo;( but on the other hand to ma!e
sure that neither 'cott nor Irwin would fly space missions again. The stamp scandal became the
con&enient means through which the latter obLecti&e could be attained. In a carefully worded press
statement( released by 7"'" in 'eptember of #,-?( the compromise is laid out fairly plainly/
In a post-mission press conference( the crew reported the memorial ceremony and( in !eeping with
their understanding( did not re&eal the sculptorOs name. In 7o&ember #,-# the 'mithsonian Institution
indicated a desire to display a replica of the memorial statue and pla)ueP the "pollo #$ crew agreed
under the conditions that the display be in good taste and without publicity. 'cott undertoo! to get the
replicas for the museum. In 6arch #,-?( 'cott forwarded replicas of the pla)ue to the museum. In
"pril( responding to 'cottOs re)uest( Van oeydonc! presented the museum with a replica of the
statuette. The replicas are currently on display there. In 6ay #,-?( 'cott learned that further replicas of
the statuette might be offered for sale. e wrote Van oeydonc! as!ing him to chec! on this rumor. In
his response( Van oeydonc! confirmed that replicas were intended for sale and indicated that he felt
no constraints or restrictions in this matter. The "pollo #$ crew strongly disagree with this position(
feeling that their solemn understanding with Van oeydonc! prohibits any such commerciali=ation..
The astronauts ha&e been forced to refrain from access to the monies accrued them &ia the sales of
stamps( and the astronauts are also mandated to distance themsel&es from oeydonc!3s plans to sell
replicas of the 0allen "stronaut. 'uch plans are also to be preempted by the 'mithsonian3s decision to
commission their own replicas of the installation( which of course in a )uid-pro-)uo grants the
astronauts3 actions an element of official consecration. This compromise is howe&er a dear price to pay
for the astronauts( esp. 'cott who had flown both <emini and earlier "pollo missions and reasonably
could ha&e e+pected a Iohn <lenn-li!e further career within 7"'". e retired from acti&e ser&ice in
%ecember #,-$( and his official 7"'" bio dated from that month reads rather more li!e an obituary.
The three replica pla)ues are still in the 'mithsonian collection( but it is unclear whether they are at
present on display( Lust as there are no photos in the on-line archi&e of any figurine( rendering it
H
uncertain what has happened to the specimen Van oeydonc! deli&ered to the 'mithsonian( according
to 7"'".
7"'"3s own idea of the proper way to honour the "merican fallen "stronauts is reflected in the
BeaganDBush-era monument I referred to earlier( The 'pace 6irror 6emorial. Its grand scale and use
of high technology to ensure that the granite slab is constantly tilted to be bac!lit by sunrays :or
artificial light during night and occasional cloudy 0lorida days; is more in tune with a 'tar 8ars epoch
in "merican foreign policy. <one are all traces of Bussian cosmonaut names( and gone are also all
traces of an o&ert 9hristian symbolism. Instead( according to the "stronauts 6emorial 0oundation3s
website describing the monument :The te+t is in fact borrowed from 99T( the tech supplier3s
description;/ The sunOs rays are proLected through the names of the astronauts( which are engra&ed
through the granite. The letter spaces are filled with crystal clear acrylic( minutely Lagged on the front
side to diffuse the light.. This rather !itschy lightshow is clearly designed to draw spectators to the site(
who then are e+pected to be duly impressed with the monument3s uni)ue blend of art and science..
The <ranite slabs currently feature ?* names but ha&e great potential for e+tension as the number of
space industry casuals grows :'pace shuttle disasters mean an additional - names e&ery time;.
The biggest contro&ersy( howe&er( has ironically been in connection with the omission of one of the
early casualties of the space race( 6aLor Bobert . Jawrence( the first blac! man selected to participate
in the space program and to enter astronaut training :in the so-called 61J program( then not under
7"'" auspices;. e was tragically !illed in training before he could participate in any space mission(
flying an 0-#@* Let when it was destroyed in an accident in %ecember #,H-. * other astronauts ha&e
died in T-3Q training plane accidents and one has been !illed flying an R-#$ test plane( all of them
ha&ing been selected as astronauts( but none of them ma!ing it into space. "ll these deaths occurred in
the time span from #,H* to #,H-( and these $ astronauts were included in the original #,,# roster of
names on the 'pace 6irror 6onument. 'till( Jawrence was not added to the roster until #,,-( 3@ years
to the day after he( as his official obituary now reads/ made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his life in
ser&ice to the nation and the space program on %ecember Q( #,H- at 3? years of age.. It too! pressure
from "frican-"merican interest groups to gain him this posthumous recognition. is name also did not
feature on the 0allen "stronaut pla)ue in #,-#.
8hat seemed at first glance to be a rather curious and innocuous e&ent which unfolded relati&ely
)uietly on the lunar surface in #,-#( actually turns out to ha&e interesting and far-reaching
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repercussions in the political( historical and cultural realm today. There are signs that the 0allen
"stronaut is cusped to enter into the pop-cultural iconosphere of this decade( not least because art is
searching for its final frontier and many artists( art critics and art historians are searching for inroads
into de&eloping a form of space art of rele&ance to our continued life on a small troubled planet. They
therefore need precursor te+ts to construct such a history of art in space( as for instance is shown by
"rthur 8oods3 piece " Brief istory of 'pace "rt. which is really a &ehicle for attempted fundraising
for his own space art proLects( such as 9osmic %ancer. and other sculptures to be sent into space.
8oods e&en goes as far as to include a possibly apocryphal piece of space art( which if indeed it turns
out to be real( would be the first piece of art on the moon. I am referring here to what I belie&e is an
urban legend( the story of a ceramic tile about half the si=e of a postage stamp( which purportedly was
affi+ed to the lunar landing module of "pollo #?( and featured the wor! of si+ &ery high profile
"merican artists etched into the tile/ Bobert Bauschenberg drew a straight lineP "ndy 8arhol drew a
penisP 9laus 1ldenburg drew the image of 6ic!ey 6ouseP and Iohn 9hamberlain( 0orrest 6yers and
%a&id 7o&ros all drew geometric designs.. This piece( supposedly titled The *oon *useum( must(
howe&er( necessarily remain the topic of another( future "merican 'tudies 'pace 9riticism paper.
Q