First Painting in Space

The Galerie Montmartre in Paris hosted the “First Painting in Space” exhibition and showcased the painting that had been sent into space a few weeks before, as a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci on the 500th anniversary of his death. This punk Mona Lisa was propelled into the stratosphere 33.4 km above the Earth for over 1 hour and a half. This world premiere was also a technical exploit: sending a piece of art to be exhibited where no painting had been exhibited before. It took seven months to put every element together, from developing a helium balloon and finding the right materials for the painting to creating the custom-made basket it would hang from. Once everything fell in place and the weather conditions were favorable, “Punk Mona” was launched and the whole performance recorded by a camera attached to the basket. This brand-new perspective in showing art was applauded as a success and the artist’s performance became a worldwide sensation in the media.