Jumpsuits & Teleporters

From the Moon: Mapping & Exploration

I’ve been working on a project with the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, SC - From the Moon: Mapping & Exploration, part one of a two-part NASA-sponsored exhibition and it opens this Saturday! For more information, visit moon.cofc.edu. Also, check out this article in The Post and Courier: Lunar Exploration: Art and Science Interact in C of C Exhibits, Moonfest.

The experience has been a dream come true! For one, I’ve had the pleasure of working directly with curator Mark Sloan and meeting many wonderful people such as scientists from the College of Charleston and South Carolina Space Grant Consortium like lunar expert Dr. Cass Runyon. This week, I’ve been working with Mark to create displays of rare, antique lunar maps, books, and illustrations at the Addlestone Library in the archives department.

Fun fact: Jules Verne predicted that we would travel to the moon from Florida.

I’ve learned a LOT in the process including the history of mankind’s fascination with mapping the Moon since Galileo and the various ways that artist-scientists have studied it. Each day I’ve been blown away by the the ways that people observed and illustrated the moon. Additionally, lunar visualizations have different styles depending on the observer. Some were drawn to look like microscopic organisms and others were modeled such as James Nasmyth’s below.

I can’t wait for the opening reception! Did I mention there’s a moon rock on view from where Apollo 15 landed at Hadley Rille of the Apennine Mountains? Apollo 15’s storyline is followed throughout the exhibit. There’s also a spacesuit glove, meteorites, and more. The exhibit is both artistic and scientific. In the gallery is a small theater room with a film collaboration by artist John Reynolds and composer Lee Donaldson. If you’re in Charleston, it’s a must-see.