Buzz Aldrin with Apollo 11 Lunar Module on the Moon 1964 - 1974

This photograph was taken on the moon by Neil Armstrong. It shows Buzz Aldrin standing near the Apollo 11 Lunar Module. I'm thinking about the surface of the moon and that strong light. It’s a photograph of a place we can never really know. It captures a single moment, but it suggests so much more. We see the lunar module and the astronaut, like brushstrokes building up an image. Each mark creates a sense of depth and space. Armstrong has an eye for composition. The light in this photograph reminds me of the way Agnes Martin would use gesso to build a surface to catch the light. There's something so hopeful and beautiful about the way that light spreads across the image. It's like a conversation between artists across time and space. They are all chasing that light, that feeling. The kind that pulls us in and makes us want to stay.