Artist Jeff Koons’ Sculpture Becomes First ‘Authorized’ to Land on the Moon, Launches Matching NFTs

cryptonews.com:

The world’s most expensive living artist, Jeff Koons, made history following the landing of the Odysseus spacecraft Thursday, becoming the first artist to officially have a piece displayed on the Moon while simultaneously offering matching NFTs of the artwork.

Powered by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, space exploration company Intuitive Machines, and NASA, spacecraft Odysseus’ successful Thursday landing marks the first mission to touch down on the Moon in over half a century. To commemorate the launch, Koons designed a multi-component sculpture focusing on “the Moon as a symbol of human curiosity and the desire to achieve,” a statement on the project’s website reads.

Just a couple hours away from the launch at 1AM EST Feb 14 of my artworks Moon Phases on Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission. The images capture the Nova-C lunar lander being encapsulated on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. I am honored to have the first authorized artwork on the Moon. pic.twitter.com/RpuSjbr7de

— Jeff Koons (@JeffKoons) February 13, 2024

Entitled  Jeff Koons: Moon Phases , the artist’s latest work is comprised of three parts: 125 miniature moon sculptures “installed on the Moon in perpetuity,” 125 larger mirror-reflective stainless steel sculptures of the Moon to remain on Earth, as well as corresponding NFTs encapsulating both components.

“Each unique NFT is paired with a sculpture that will reside on the Moon within the cube and a sculpture that will reside on the Earth, cultivating connections between the digital and physical worlds,” the project’s website reads. “The NFT itself will include an image of the sculptures installed on the Moon’s surface, as well as other images. Along with the other two components of  Moon Phases , the NFT will feature