Date of Graduation

5-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

Sean P. Morrissey

Committee Member

Marc Mitchell

Second Committee Member

David C. Chioffi

Third Committee Member

Adam Posnak

Fourth Committee Member

Sam King

Keywords

Conspiracy, Fine Art, NASA, Painting and Drawing, Printmaking

Abstract

Almost fifty years after the Apollo 11 mission, the moon landing remains one of humankind’s most remarkable technological achievements. On the lunar surface, the Eagle’s flight crew left behind an American flag, mementos honoring those who lost their lives in the quest for such an achievement, and a plaque reading, “Here men from the planet Earth set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” Despite overwhelming proof of this achievement—radio transmissions, photographs, film, rock and soil samples—a sizable minority of Americans continue to view the Apollo 11 moon landing as a hoax. To the Moon and Back takes this conspiratorial lens as a point of departure, exploring the history of NASA and the subsequent Apollo 11 moon landing as both a case study in period-specific Americanism, as well as a contemporary armature through which the construction of belief is examined. Prints, drawings, paintings sculpture, and music offer a narrative matrix of myth, folklore, conspiracy, faith, and fiction, and fact, with the goal of challenging our ideologies and histories in the contemporary post-factual landscape.

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