The prevailing sentiment of Space Camp is that failure is an inescapable part of the research and development process. The Vectran on the original Mars Yard bent and broke; push-ups are executed until failure. In one room, a cloud of hanging plumbobs are arranged in such a way that it is impossible to maneuver without knocking them out of place. But the key, according to Sachs, is isolating and, more importantly, learning from these micro-failures, without letting them snowball into macro-failures.
Summer camp is an American tradition. Tom Sachs is a master of reinterpreting Americana and refracting it through the prisms of sculpture, irony and humor. So when it came time for Sachs to release the second iteration of his beloved NikeCraft Mars Yard shoe, naturally Sachs offered his own interpretation of Space Camp. The elaborate Space Camp installation that Sachs has set up on Governor’s Island is proof positive of this: far from a run-of-the-mill pop-up, Sachs has built a full complex, including an obstacle course, shooting gallery, coffee-shop and sculpture studio. Aspiring space cadets must complete Sachs’ challenges to earn a chance for a pair of Sachs’ coveted NikeCraft Mars Yard 2.0.
#issue 01.19
* Read the full interview of Tom Sachs about his new ambition of recreating a new clothing line inspired of NASA techology