− Member of the Salon d'Automne Society, Paris, France −
Kazuhiro Yamada
THE LUNAR CODEX
Two of my artworks were selected for Lunar Codex, a global cultural heritage project in which the Art Renewal Center, based in the United States, is involved. The ARC hosts the International ARC Salon Competition, where I had the honor of receiving the Chairman's Award in 2019.
In this epic project, selected works of contemporary artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers from 254 countries and territories are scanned using the world's highest standard laser etching technology, transferred onto nickel foil, and preserved on a memory card that is expected to last over a million years and is resistant to humidity changes and radiation.
Then, the archive is preserved in a time capsule and is launched to the Moon.
According to Dr. Samuel Peralta, a founder of Lunar Codex, said, "It would be a thrill for our descendants , maybe the ones in a lunar colony, to be able to unearth these objects. It's a way of saying we were here. Despite all the everything that we have been through, wars, pandemics, we found the time to create some beauty in the world, we found the time to create art."Therefore, this is a cultural heritage that we humans living in the 21st century will pass down to future generations living hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years from now.
This archived time capsule is targeting a launch date of September 2025 from JF Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, through NASA mission CLPS-TO-20A, via the SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, where Elon Musk serves as Chairman, CEO, and CTO.
When the launched rocket arrives at the Moon, it will land on the lunar surface using the Griffin Lander, a lunar lander developed by Astrobotic, a U.S. company that creates space robotic technology for planetary missions.
Then, it will be transported to the lunar South Pole by the NASA VIPER moon rover, which was developed at NASA's Ames Research Center, and the time capsule will be preserved there semi-permanently.
When the time comes for our descendants living hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of years ahead to find and open the time capsule, I wish that the landscapes I depicted in my paintings will remain as they are now on the earth.
"A time capsule of human creativity, stored in the sky" - The New York Times
"How the Lunar Codex is aiming to change the Moon forever" - CNN