It was an absolutely incredible weekend for the aerospace industry with the historic landing of two astronauts from a private space company. I am sure the SpaceX team will find a way to celebrate accordingly but, as an outsider, I can imagine Elon Musk is wasting no time in marking the next endeavor (pun 😂) in the grand vision. Acknowledging that now this box has been checked off, of bringing astronauts to the space station and back safely from a private company, we all know what the next step in the timeline has in store: going to the Moon.
This got me thinking about the mission SpaceX has already slated for the near future of sending people around the Moon. If you remember, Yusaku Maezawa is the one who bought the tickets for this 7 person flight to the Moon and back that will take place via the Starship. I decided to create a small list of 7 passengers, Maezawa included, of who I think should go to the Moon. It can be artists, musicians, directors, designers, etc. Below I have names and a short reasoning for what inspired me to put them on the flight log. Take a look and let me know what you think.
Yusaku Maezawa — Although I didn’t choose Maezawa, I feel compelled to find reasoning behind why I think he should go. Having briefly looked into his background, he actually has done some cool things in the fashion industry that are eye-opening to say the least. His ZOZOSUIT allows a person to get custom fit clothing based on the measurements taken via the suit. Additionally, he started an art foundation to support young artists and he has purchased works by Basquiat, not to mention he spent $98 million in two days over artwork he plans on housing in a museum he soon plans to create. Clearly, Maezawa is art driven and he plans on exploiting the extent of it by using this mission to enrich our lives once the crew returns.
David Blaine — There is no doubt David Blaine is one of my favorite artists. Most people know him as the one who does crazy magic but his absurd feats can actually be categorized as endurance art. My favorite feats are the 30+ hour monument stand, 40+ days and nights without food, and the bullet catch in his mouth. Anytime I catch up on what David Blaine is doing I am always amazed at the level of expertise he brings to all his tricks, even if all we are viewing is a simple trick with a deck of cards. Now imagine giving him time to prepare to go around the Moon and back, who knows what he will come up with. Card tower on the Moon? I am not totally sure what he can pull off but I do know one thing… I want to find out.
Maria Popova — This pick might be the biggest sleeper pick of them all. Most people have probably never heard of her but the writing prowess of Maria Popova is almost unfathomable. Her control of the English language is absolutely incredible and to completely raise the weight on this accolade… she is Bulgarian. Her blog Brain Pickings covers all sorts of topics that it’s hard to imagine a new reader wouldn’t find something interesting to digest on while viewing her page from time to time. She talks about the deep philosophies of Stoicism one week and then really makes you feel incompetent when she divulges a 2 and a half page ponder on the color blue. In my eye, someone with this writing capability is needed to relay back to us normal folk what a visit to the “beautiful desolate” is actually like, so that we can embody the same emotions the passengers experienced. She is truly a brilliantly talented writer.
James Franco — I have always been a fan of James Franco. Aside from his acting career, which is what most people know him from, he is quite the academic. He holds 7 degrees spanning the arts of creative writing, poetry, filmmaking and fiction writing and has even taught as a professor at UCLA. James Franco has always been a deep lover of art except his was channeled more so into the aspects of film but recently has been deployed into writing. Theater is a particular avenue Franco has exercised his acting talent when he starred in Of Mice and Men. Through the combination of his artistic abilities and the breadth of which they span, Franco going to the moon would certainly spark a different type of creative output upon returning, one that only a multipotentialite could conjure up. Him having a comedic nature certainly doesn’t hurt either!
JR — I hate to categorize his art as street art but in some ways his work embodies the street art movement. The exception is that most of the time his art is spanning more than a street, in ways that is unimaginable. JR has taken over the roofs of favelas, given different perspective to museums and even prisons. His art form uses mural size photography to re-imagine the spaces around us by shedding light on social issues, providing an artistic vantage point, or downright being goofy. I encourage you all to watch his TED talk if you haven’t already. Some of his work is the coolest stuff I have seen and he is one of the few iconic, ‘public spectacle’ artists remaining. I think a trip around the Moon for this artist would serve us all extremely well.
Hans Zimmer — I debated with myself for who to give this seat to. It came down to three directors, but I decided to pivot and give it to a composer instead and let me tell you why. If you know movies, then you know who Hans Zimmer is. If you do not know movies, you still know who Hans Zimmer is by his music, you simply haven’t made the connection between two. He is the man behind some of your favorite movie soundtracks such as: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, Inception, Blade Runner, and that’s not even the half of it. To me, the music in a movie is what makes or breaks it since the melodies are used to provide tone, sense of emotion, foreshadow, and fill the void from time to time. Having sampled his Masterclass, Zimmer spends a great deal of time understanding the character emotions and storylines so that the tone he invokes parallels with what a movie is trying to portray. Now imagine this man venturing around the Moon, only to come back with a new perspective on his work and cultivate a new tone for the next era of great movies we all will be a part of. That is a ticket I can get behind.
Kanye West — And I end up with probably the most controversial pick of them all. You have to bring Kanye. As an artist he is one of my favorites. I am a big fan of many of his albums and have seen him live which was by far the most epic concert I have been to considering I was in the front row. He also dabbles in fashion, although most of his clothes and shoes aren’t affordable to the general public. The sleeper trait of Kanye is that he is a fan of architecture and minimalism. His entire house is very minimalistic and from a design perspective is something unique considering how open his life is due to him being a celebrity. Kanye eclipses many art categories which I find appealing in a candidate. Also, Elon and Kanye are already friends! Let’s send him to the Moon and when he gets back let him rant a little and create whatever comes to mind.
My list skews male heavy, which was not by design. Which female artists did I miss? Reach out to me so we can discuss. There are a lot of brilliant artists out there. I wonder who will end up going when the time comes, nonetheless, it will be remarkable.
Let’s light this candle.
Originally published: August 4th, 2020
