M MM

Lives and works in Chicago, IL, USA

Artist statement

"Space Race: UNCLASSIFIED" by MMM (they/them) I am a transdisciplinary artist and former U.S. Propagandist. In between earning my MFA and BFA, I was involved directly with NASA for 11 years as a photographer. As a badged and fingerprinted contractor on “the base”, I was a direct part of the workforce. I can share many highlights of my NASA career. However, the work demanded patriotism, secrecy, and what STEM people value as “scientific objectivity” that I simply do not ascribe to. The culture de-emphasized viewpoints of individuals and placed our work under the hierarchy "ONE NASA". Fifty percent of onsite employees like myself, were not hired as “civil servants”. We knew our employment as contractors was less stable and not incrementally monetized with no pension. Unlike many of my former colleagues, I do not believe in scientific neutrality, genius, or an "objective truth". History is curated and honed over generations even the term and goals of “history” is worth examining and responding to. I know this because I was a storyteller and summarizer of what and whom was seen then celebrated and archived. Over time I grew to understand how the projects I was working on supported military defense sometimes directly, but often it was not so obvious. NASA is many things to many people; it is important for me to share that it is a R&D (research and development) sandbox for the military industrial system. NASA and all its collaborators are the Space, science, and aeronautics...

Artwork