Moonwalk (F. & S. II.404-45)

At the time of his death, Andy Warhol was working on a major portfolio entitled TV, in which he aimed to trace the history of television. Moonwalk, the only completed image in the project is an example of the quintessential post-war American icons Warhol portrayed. Using a freeze-frame image originally broadcast to millions of viewers, the astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands next to the American flag he placed on the moon. Warhol returns to this seminal moment through the technique of screenprint. Combining a palette of neon colors, and fluorescent outlines, he updates the original image to reflect the flourishing culture of the 1980s. Warhol's initials can be discerned across Aldrin's visor; a typical ironic touch by the artist who thereby adds his mark to the famous image, just as the American flag was added to the surface of another world.