Moonwalk

Andy Warhol made this pair of images in 1987, taking inspiration from one of the most famous photographs of the twentieth century: an astronaut standing on the Moon next to the American flag during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Warhol, the leading figure of the Pop Art movement, was known for borrowing pictures from advertising, news, and popular culture, then turning them into bold, colorful prints. Here he gives us the same scene twice, but with completely different color schemes. One astronaut glows in soft yellow, while the other burns bright pink, showing how a simple change of color can shift the whole mood of a picture.

This was actually one of the last works Warhol created before his death in February 1987. By repeating and recoloring a familiar image, he was doing something he had done throughout his career with Marilyn Monroe, soup cans, and other icons. The idea was to take a picture so famous that we barely look at it anymore, and make us see it fresh again. The Moon landing was a shared memory for millions of people, and Warhol's playful, slightly artificial colors remind us that even our most serious historical moments reach us through images, prints, and screens.