Tin Can

index of sculptures 1988 to 2023

Tin Can (Friendship7)

2005
Bas-relief in salvaged wood #29, 110 x 70 x 10cm.
Concordia Collection, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Tin Can was the first space themed bas-relief and the first relief to be fitted with a large image on the back. The reason for this was that the work was intended for ‘de Aanschouw’ gallery, a display built into the facade of the Aanschouw cafe in Rotterdam that had hosted more then a thousand mini exhibitions until it closed in 2023 . The image on the rear of Tin Can was a NASA photo of astronaut John Glenn.

Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. dons his silver Mercury pressure suit in preparation for launch of Mercury Atlas 6 (MA-6) rocket. Januari 20, 1962. Photo: NASA.

About Friendship 7 and Mercury-Atlas 6

The Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, conducted by NASA on February 20 1962, was piloted by astronaut John Glenn, who performed three orbits of the Earth, making him the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth. It reestablished NASA and the US as strong contenders in the space race with the Soviet Union. The USSR had launched Sputnik, the first spacecraft, in 1957, and Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space in 1961. After Glenn’s flight the space race shifted its focus towards the Moon.
(source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_7)

Image above: Glenn Suits-Up for Launch [1962]
photo by NASA. ‘Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. dons his silver Mercury pressure suit in preparation for launch. On February 20, 1962 Glenn lifted off into space aboard his Mercury Atlas (MA-6) rocket and became the first American to orbit the Earth. After orbiting the Earth 3 times, Friendship 7 landed in the Atlantic Ocean 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds later, just East of Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas. Glenn and his capsule were recovered by the Navy Destroyer Noa,
21 minutes after splashdown.’
(source NASA: grin.hq.nasa.gov/…GPN-2000-001027)

Video: Friendship 7, Full Mission, over 5 hours worth of original video and audio.
Credit: Lunarmodule5





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