Stoned Moon

About this book

In 1969, Robert Rauschenberg was invited by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to witness the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to place man on the moon for the first time. At the end of a decade in which the war in Vietnam and social turmoil in America had left him disillusioned, this scientific and technological marvel gave the artists new hope for the future. that year, in response to the Apollo 11 achievement and in collaboration with the Gemini G.E.L. print workshop , Rauschenberg created the Stoned Moon series - the title reflecting both the lithographic medium and the moon mission. This publication includes the Stoned Moon series of 34 lithographs from the National Gallery of Australia's collection and discusses them in the context of the Apollo 11 mission as well as Rauschenberg's experimental and groundbreaking printmaking techniques.