The Real Moon (Science in Love)

84 X 130 cm     ac

• Raphael: “Madonna of the Chair”, 1507, Pitti Palace, Florence
  
• Paris March: “Astronauts Duke and Young”

This category of paintings dealing with the theme of lunar exploration and outer space begins with a composition which is Western in its selection of symbols. The Occident is the civilization of materialism and scientific achievement.The American landing on the Moon is the most breathtaking and stupendous triumph of this science. It represents a triumph of materialism. Billions of dollars have been expended. Resources have been marshaled, fabricated, and consumed. Prodigious quantities of the world’s finest brains have been put to service. The astronauts are shot into space, the whole world watches. The explorers- it doesn’t matter which pair- land safely. They are a long way from home, and for all the power of this technology, they are very alone and vulnerable.In this interpretation, the astronauts land on the Moon and discover that there is another Moon- and, Chen says “They discover that the real Moon is Love.” He uses the Raphael Madonna as his symbol of love.There is a secondary symbolism. The Madonna Moon is an eyepiece, the lens of the TV camera, an object which has come to dominate communications and influence cultural perceptions in every possible way. The camera follows every move of the lunar pathfinders, every step of loved ones so far away. The choice of a Raphael New Testament image also suggests the moment when the astronaut orbiting the Moon on Christmas Eve read from the Bible for all the world to hear.

Chen calls the world to eternal love, which is more important than technology.

– Lawrance Jeppson