Day Sixty-Three : Museum of the Moon
- Tami
- Mar 2, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 12, 2020
Monday 2nd March 2020
Today we had a sort of trip to Rochester Cathedral to see the Museum of the Moon. Between going there, Chatham just before break and getting back to UCA by the end of break, I lost the sheet of paper that had information of the task we had to complete. So instead of asking someone if I could borrow their sheet to photocopy, which was an option I was considering, I decided to improvise and write a review of the visit but also include the things that I thought were part of the task e.g. what was the installation made of, who made it, how did the audience react, what is your reaction and so on. So, here is my long review and analysis.
THE MOON AT ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL!
This is my review of the Museum of the Moon at Rochester Cathedral. For me, seeing the moon at Rochester Cathedral was quite anticlimactic. It was just the moon which I had seen many times in pictures and films throughout my life. What was interesting was how it hung and I wondered what it was made of. Museum of the Moon is a 2016 inflatable installation artwork created by Luke Jerram. It measures seven metres in diameter and features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. According to the Rochester Cathedral website, each centimetre represents 5km of the moon’s surface. The viewing of the Moon was accompanied by ‘Choral Music Soundtrack’ by Simon Jones which added to the atmosphere nicely. Museum of the Moon will be presented in art exhibitions and festivals around the world. “As it travels from place to place, it gathers new compositions and an ongoing collection of personal responses, stories and mythologies, as well as highlighting the latest moon science.”
Everyone else in the crowd seemed to be enjoying their visit to the ‘moon’ and many of them showed it, these displays included a positive hullabaloo and interesting picture poses. I wonder what really interested these people. Was it the realistic looking moon hanging right before them? Maybe it was the opportunity to learn about the latest moon science. Or perhaps it was because they could “observe and contemplate cultural similarities and differences around the world.” Either way, I sadly did not share their enthusiasm.
Throughout history the moon has inspired artists, poets, writers and musicians all over the world. Different cultures around the world have their own historical relationships to the moon. There are many different religions around the world but I am going to focus on a Christian perspective because the Museum of the Moon is currently at Rochester Cathedral.
We should start by asking the question, ‘Is there any significance to a full moon in the Bible?’ Full moons are mentioned a bit in the Bible but not in any way that have any particular significance. New moons marked the beginning of months in the lunar-based Hebrew calendar and also signified when the Israelites were to bring sacrifices to God. Humans often seem to worship anything that seems greater than them and moon-worship has been quite common throughout history. Some cultures have attributed divine qualities to the moon and have built alters and worshipped it. However, to Christians the moon is a creation of God and not worthy of worship and believe that worshipping the moon would be committing idolatry which is against the Ten Commandments.
Looking at this you might wonder, “Why would the moon be in the Cathedral?” Well, many people may think that Christianity and Science are opposing beliefs. You can’t believe in both. There are churches that are completely opposed to science and believe that to believe in science as a Christian is wrong, there is even a belief called Christian Science which argues that sickness is an illusion that can be corrected by prayer alone. However, there are churches like St Justus in Rochester that often incorporate science and discovery with their worship, especially with their science advocate ‘Chemical Chris’. In recent years there are more Christians that believe in both science and the Bible.
Here are four “faith facts” about the moon landing sourced from a blog called Christian Headlines.
Edwin Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, took communion aboard the eagle lunar lander. He described the mission as “part of God’s eternal plan for man”.
The “Church of the Astronauts” still celebrates Lunar Communion Sunday, July 20. To date, Lunar Communion Sunday at Webster Presbyterian includes a reading of a passage from Psalm 8 which is one of the two passages that Aldrin read in space.
The Pope blessed the Apollo 11 astronauts. Like many, St Paul VI (the pope at the time) watched the moon landing on television.
There was an Apollo prayer league. When O’Hair filed her lawsuit alleging Apollo 8 astronauts violated the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause by reading from the Book of Genesis while in orbit, a group that called itself the Apollo Prayer League leapt to the astronauts’ defence. The League got more than 8 million signatures and letters defending the religious freedom of astronauts.
These are examples where Science and Christianity go hand in hand which is more common than a lot of people think. So, the ‘moon’ being at the Cathedral isn’t really that strange, after all it is a big venue therefore the Museum of the Moon could probably fit easily there. The Reverend Canon Christopher Dench who is the Vice Dean of Rochester Cathedral says, “We are absolutely delighted to be hosting this stunning and awe-inspiring art work. The Cathedral is a place where we welcome everyone to come and think, explore and contemplate their place in the world and the lives of others. This installation is the perfect complement to this, giving us all the opportunity to wonder and ponder on the beauty and scale of God’s creation and our role within it.” This seems like it is a good opportunity for Rochester Cathedral to show more people the relationship between Christianity and Science as well as to teach people more about the history of Rochester Cathedral.
Bibliography
After completing this I had time left, because I felt like continuing through lunch, so I had nothing to do. I was going to make something in response to what I had learnt but I wasn't really passionate. Therefore, I decided to try and figure out how to do an effect that I liked seeing in videos, which was blurring the image and showing text. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to find out how to blur. Here is the short video random I made while experimenting.
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