Vitae Lunar Sculpture Project.

[55delta]

Well, you could say that there's already one art object on the Moon. The Fallen Astronaut was put there by Apollo 15. Yes, it is supposed to be a memorial, but art is incorporated in it.

What I wonder about this project is...aside from a flashing dot you can see on with binoculars on 'special occasions', how would we know it landed and deployed correctly? Even better, what's the point of an art sculpture that you'd have to go to the Moon to actually admire? If visibility on Earth is the best way to admired it, why not some sort of fancy spotlight instead?

Not that I'm against art on the Moon, of course. I'm sure most of us would agree that a sculpture like that would make a good centerpiece for a lunar colony.

[kerbiloid]

They must send a herd of 200-m inflatable ponies made of aluminium foil.
They are lightweight and would shine every sunny day on the Moon.

[UnusualAttitude]

9 hours ago, LordFerret said:

While that is true, not everyone perceives individual works the same. Art to some is trash to others, and vice versa. IMO, the Moon is not a canvas nor a gallery for man's creations... and if it is, then I've got an idea of my own. Will my idea, and others, be permitted? Who will judge me?

I quite agree in principle, but we're talking about a small sculpture that will probably be no taller than a person when fully deployed. It's far smaller than the LEMs and rovers that NASA left on the Moon, and no-one asked NASA to clean up their trash behind them because it was ruining the landscape (at least no-one to be taken seriously).

If it is launched with one of the Google Lunar X Prize missions, I assume the rover (or whatever machine they take to move across the surface) would be able to capture images of the work of art on the lunar surface. Apart from the laser (which would have a limited life expectancy anyway), the sculpture itself would then be completely invisible until future crewed missions make it to the Moon (we only got good pictures of the Apollo hardware relatively recently, with LRO). And even then, it is unlikely that such a site would have high priority: when we do go back, it will probably be to the poles, looking for water ice.

I see this as more of a time-capsule, such as the ones buried on Earth, or KEO, or the Golden Discs on the Voyager probes. A snapshot of art from the early 21st century that might be re-discovered hundreds of years from now. We could certainly debate on wether it's worth a few million bucks or not, but I don't see any practical difference from previous projects to send human art and culture into space, to be preserved for "eternity". 

 

Edited February 20, 2017 by UnusualAttitude

[YNM]

Why would you send an artwork to where no one can see it

Still, if it made the journey, I also hope some more science apparatus would also fly along. Cubesat science package to the Moon, anyone ?

[ChainiaC]

Actually... when I graduated art school, there was this special prize for the best work from the final graduation exhibit, and it went to a student who made a piece of, uhm... 'art' and put it on top of a column where no one could see it. So, yea. Art. *shrugs*