Walker and Walker
Walker and Walker
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PORTRAIT OF VIRGIL GUS GRISHAM, 2013
Lemon, metal coat hanger

In January 1967, Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, an American astronaut,held an unauthorized press conference in which he informed reporters that the United States was "at least a decade away" from even contemplating a lunar mission. He was severely rebuked for giving that interview without permission. Following this reprimand, Gus Grissom later came out of a water tank reduced gravity simulation of the supposed lunar landing module, and hung a lemon attached to a coat-hanger in front of a NASA emblem to indicate to any cameras present, without speaking, what he and his fellow crew members, Roger Chaffee and Edward White, thought of the Apollo program and as a means to critique the space program to date. This act of defiance is both simplistic and poetic in its essence, an act of transgression. The single mute action of a man, becomes a portrait of both the person and a remnant from a silent protest.

See also
In the air