What would you choose to represent an entire planet? A landscape, a voice, a song? The Voyager Golden Record turned that enormous question into something small enough to carry aboard a spacecraft. It is the starting point for POOR FORM’s Golden Record T-shirt.
What is the Voyager Golden Record?
Each of NASA’s two Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, carries a 12-inch, gold-plated copper record. Its contents were selected to give a possible finder an introduction to life and culture on Earth. Think of it as a physical time capsule, with no known recipient and no promised reply.
What is on it?
A committee led by Carl Sagan selected 115 images, spoken greetings in 55 languages, music and natural sounds. Surf, wind, thunder, birds and whales sit alongside human contributions. The pictures are encoded in analogue form; they are not photographs printed across the disc.
The protective cover carries symbolic instructions, including information about playing the record and locating its world of origin. A cartridge and needle travelled with it. Even the problem of explaining how to listen became part of the message.
Why this story belongs on a T-shirt
For us, the interesting part is the act of choosing. A record has limits. A planet’s worth of experience does not. Every inclusion invites another question: what would you have added, and what would a stranger make of it?
That is the sort of idea Curated Curiosity is built around. The graphic needs to work from across a room, then offer a reason to come closer. You can enjoy the composition first and discover its subject afterwards.
The Golden Record tee pairs a large back artwork with a restrained PF chest identifier. It is printed on a relaxed-fit, garment-dyed cotton T-shirt. Use the product’s size guide to compare measurements with a tee you already wear.
Explore the Golden Record tee or see the whole Curated Curiosity — Chapter One collection.
Keep looking
Discover another kind of recording in Fred Ott’s 1894 sneeze, or explore the colour and celebration behind Holi.