1968 - Bang, Zoom, To The Moon!

     This next entry is a bit unorthodox.  Most of these pieces so far have been created by actual artists.  This next work is almost an unintentional piece of art, but is stil just as beautiful and captivating as anything I've discussed so far.  This is Earthrise:

Earthrise - 1968

      "Hand me that roll of color quick, will you..." -- William Anders, seconds before the image was captured.

     This photo was taken by William Anders, one of the astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission to the moon: the first manned voyage to orbit the Moon.  I really love the quote above, as perfectly and candidly captures just how universally monumental of an event this was.  Every person would have done the same thing Anders did.

     At the bottom of the frame, the horizon of the Moon creeps up toward the center of the frame at an angle.  Above that, a field of inky black space, perforated by a half-lit Earth just off from the center of the frame.  The use of the Moon as the horizon line adds to the sense of wonder created by this image.  The horizon is what we use to ground ourselves (no pun intended) in an image: it's the divide between planet and sky.  So, when we see, just above the horizon of an image, the planet we all recognize as our home, a very profound realization occurs.  It takes an image like this to truly make Man realize his true place in the perspective of the cosmos.  Man is much smaller than he thinks he is.

My Opinion

     So this was a much shorter installation to the blog, but I feel that's apropos.  After all, this image is one of the finest examples of minimalism I've ever seen.  Plus, what more really needs to be said?  The sentiment of the image is so strikingly universal that almost everyone gets on the same page upon seeing it.  I'm infinitely interested in the vastness of space, so this picture really strikes me with the way it puts our home into perspective.  It's really, truly stunning.

     Good day friends!  See you next time!