Hasta La Ideas

Tom Sachs and his merry brand of bricoleurs are headed for the red planet. The artist will continue his DIY exploration of the final frontier with “Space Program 2.0: Mars,” a four-week mission that will launch next spring in the 55,000-square-foot drill hall of New York’s Park Avenue Armory. Sachs and his 13-member studio team have used foam core, hot glue, and plywood to create elaborate (yet cheekily rough-hewn) spacecraft, exploratory vehicles, mission control, launch platforms, and a Martian landscape. Visitors to the exhibition, which opens May 18, can watch the intrepid crew from take-off to landing, as they perform mission tasks such as Rover Deployment, Red Beans and Rice Preparation, and Suiting Protocol. The team will also embark on planetary excursions, collect scientific samples, and photograph the surrounding landscape.

“Tom Sachs’ work taps into the role of space flight in America and in the American psyche, particularly relevant given the recent grounding of the NASA shuttle program,” said Anne Pasternak of Creative Time, which will co-sponsor the exhibition. “Space Program 2.0: Mars blurs the lines between art and science, offering audiences a fresh perspective on the past, present, and future of space exploration.” The Mars mission comes approximately five years after Sachs first journeyed into space. Enjoy this film by the artist and the Neistat Brothers that documents “Space Program,” Sachs’ lunar landing at Gagosian’s Beverly Hills outpost.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.