Buzz Aldrin on the Moon with the American Flag 1964 - 1974

This photograph of Buzz Aldrin on the moon with the American flag, was taken by Neil Armstrong, at an unrecorded date, using a Hasselblad camera. The striking monochrome palette creates an alien landscape. It’s funny isn’t it, that this image is so iconic, so obviously staged, and yet it still holds this powerful emotional resonance for people. The grey surface of the moon contrasts sharply with the darkness of space, creating a high-contrast image, punctuated by the white of Aldrin’s suit and the American flag. Look at the ground, it’s like a rough, granular texture, almost like an abstract expressionist painting. The footprints, so clear and distinct, create a human narrative. It’s funny how the smallest mark can be so revealing. Thinking about the staged, and mediated nature of this image makes me consider the work of artists like Sherrie Levine or Richard Prince, in the way they use photography to create a record, but also a document of an event.