Who was the first man in space? – Work in progress

Young men from opposing political viewpoints expand scientific and exploration boundaries for political kudos – but they were exciting times. Bring back the cold war – the world was a safer place and more interesting.

The Cold War was the period of history from roughly between 1946 and 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States and its allies. Although the chief military forces never engaged in a major battle with each other, they expressed the conflict through military coalitions, strategic conventional force deployments, extensive aid to states deemed vulnerable, proxy wars, espionage, propaganda, conventional and nuclear arms races, appeals to neutral nations, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race.

Cold War. (2011, December 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:43, December 4, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cold_War&oldid=463632314

Work in Progress

Triumphant Adventure

ARTIST + S T A T E M E N T …

The political and ideological polarity of Russia and the USA during the cold war (retrospectively) makes an interesting starting point for a new project. Apparently there are rumors that the early days of the Russian space program were not only motivated by military and scientific advancement but a search for a new world to populate – to put citizens of the Russian Republic on once they had realized their ambitions of ensuring immortality. There was no God in Russia (officially) and the USA put their trust in God, both were chasing the same dreams, immortality and history. Gagarin achieved both by  becoming a God (hero) in his own country and the rest of the world – all gods die young.

As an 11 year old I watched the first moon landing in 1969. I was mad about everything to do with space travel, I would read anything that was about rockets, cosmonauts and astronauts. Later in my life I shook the hand of a man who shook the hand of my all time hero Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, that was for me like touching history, if only secondhand (excuse the pun).

I was rummaging through old boxes of stuff and found the newspaper cutting of an astronaut on the moon – yellowed and faded – it still makes my heart flutter. I wish I’d been to the moon.

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