My art is driven by the idea of artist as explorer. Aesthetically mutable, each body of work begins with an inquiry into the nature of the cosmos and is developed through artistic research. Incorporating a broad range of mediums, my practice has led me to conduct field research and collaborate with scientists. Manned Mock Mars Mission (MMMM) began as an investigation into the similarities between the paintings of the Rocky Mountain School during the years of westward expansion and contemporary Martian imaging and development of Martian colonization programs. Romantic painting and satellite imagery have presented the public with utopian ideas and imagery driving the funding of technologies necessary for colonization; the development of the railroad and funding of NASA projects. 

During the winter of 2014, I attended a two week rotation aboard the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS,) an analog simulation of Mars in the Utah desert, within  which participants perform daily activities based on NASA training and research techniques. During my stay, I worked with a group of scientists and engineers as team journalist. I recorded daily events, such as group research projects and outdoor expeditions. This experience formed the basis for a performative solo analog, which I undertook in an isolated prairie in the Iowa Loess Hills. In preparation for the two week mission, I created my own habitat and spacesuit, and collected two weeks worth of supplies. Basing my activities on the fieldwork of the team geologist I met at MDRS, I collected and logged mineral specimens from the surrounding area. Merging the definitions of both American and cosmic frontiers, the solo analog was carried out with a mix of 19th century and space age technology. The sculpture, video and works on paper function as artifacts of this event. MMMM originated from a desire to assimilate the scientific process directly into my practice, and the narrative of the solo explorer on Mars serves to connect this experiential body of work to the discomfort and ingenuity that fueled early exploratory endeavors.


MMMM was generously supported by an Iowa Arts Council Grant and an NPN/VAN Grant.

Photo credits: Derek Blackman