Materials:

Five-channel television broadcast installation
Archival footage: NASA, Johnson Space Center, Archive.Org
Vintage televisions (1968-1979)

Special thanks:

Ron Jennings, vintage television engineering

Project Description:

This installation recalls the domestic spaces where millions of people gathered to watch the first lunar landing. In July 1969, people watched on color televisions bought specifically for viewing the historic spectacle.  Many others clustered in front of shop windows and around portable televisions set up in offices to experience the first truly global broadcast of a real-time event.

Media coverage, from every nation, focused on the unprecedented technical and scientific advancements that enabled the mission. Television crews recorded spectator reactions of awe, not only of the landing but also of the national display of the technological prowess of the United States. Verbal remarks from engineers at Mission Control and from the astronauts themselves instantly became iconic statements announcing the arrival of the space age.

When the Saturn rocket launched on July 16th, we entered our mid-20th century living rooms to watch history in the making, eight days later we emerged into the future.

This exhibit was designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing. The context was a collaboration with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Celestial Celebration: Music, Art and Technology, a multimedia performance & installation. The Public Interactives Research Lab (PIRL) designed and built six interactive exhibits and collaborated with Dr. Christine Veras (ATEC/UTDallas) and Dr. Donna Cox (AVL/NSCA/UIUC).

Far Seeing Apollo sourced authentic Apollo-era CRT televisions, collaborated with Ron Jennings to restore some of them to their peak condition, and assembled a low-power television broadcast station. This nearby station broadcast a five-channel video installation.

Each of the channels represented one possible view of the events: Mission Control, Astronauts, Media, Spectators and a cosmic perspective (which presented a poetic, non-human perspective).