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Photos: Experience "NASA's" Amazing Mission To Mars Inside The Park Ave Armory
By
John Del Signore
Published May 18, 2012
Modified May 18, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 18, 2012
Modified May 18, 2012
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The 55,000 square foot Park Avenue Armory has been transformed into a retro-futuristic tribute to the American space age with a sprawling installation by artist Tom Sachs. Called SPACE PROGRAM: MARS, the exhibit is also a living performance, with Sachs and his studio team of thirteen performing the myriad procedures, rituals, and tasks of their mission to Mars. Everything from the Mars landscape to the NASA aeronautical equipment is created out of salvaged materials or ordered from DIY catalogs. Click through on Katie Sokoler's photos for a look at the massive, immersive show. Here's a video preview:
The Armory describes what awaits visitors to MARS:
In preparation for their lengthy mission, Sachs and his crew have engineered all that is necessary for survival, colonization, and scientific exploration in extraterrestrial environs, from food delivery and astronaut entertainment to human waste disposal. The team is spending the duration of the project in residency at the Armory working through mission tasks and systems, including Space Camp, Rover Deployment, Red Beans and Rice Preparation, and Suiting Protocol.
Visitors are invited to undergo a re-education or “indoctrination” process that enables them to participate in the installation like a member of the studio team, ultimately earning the right to enter the Landing Excursion Module (LEM), Sachs’ hand-sculpted and life-sized space capsule. Over the course of the installation, the team will also conduct 90-minute demonstrations of the SPACE PROGRAM: MARS “Flight Plan.” During these events, visitors witness the activation of the complex sculptural systems, rituals, and narratives that comprise the mission to Mars, from lift off to their first walk on the surface of Mars to collecting scientific samples.
SPACE PROGRAM: MARS continues through June 17th and costs $12 for adults. The Park Avenue Armory is located at 643 Park Avenue, between 66th and 67th Street.
Tagged
creative time
Mars
Park Avenue Armory
space program mars
tom sachs
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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