At the beginning of a recent project, all I knew is that it would involve the atomic bomb and art. I was very excited to see where this project would go, and I hope you are too because now the project is done and I’ve reflected on it all in this post.
I spend lots of time making art, and for me art is a skill to practice, a way to learn, and a creative outlet. In this project, I’ve explored how art can be a way to convey a concept.
The development of the atomic bomb is the topic we’ve been learning about in class. Certain events from the past are considered historically significant, meaning that we’ve decided that event should be remembered because it has somehow changed the world. The development of the atomic bomb had countless lasting consequences all over the world, and certainly has great historical significance. The atomic bomb did not just change science and technology, the course of history, or society and culture, It changed the world.
One of these many areas the atomic bomb has impacted is science. The story of the atomic bomb starts with scientific discoveries and hypotheses. I’ve noticed that art and science although sometimes are considered worlds apart, are very similar in some ways. Art and science both start with an idea, that idea is then brought to life through experimenting, and then there is a final result which either confirms the ideas or creates something unexpected. This connection between art and science reminds me of this project, where we brought together conceptual art and the history of the atomic bomb.
This project asked the driving question, “how did the atomic bomb change the world?”. At the end I created conceptual art, where the concept that the artwork communicates is most important, above artistic skill or visual aspects. The concept was the most important part of my artwork because it was my answer to the driving question.
In my last post I wrote a literary criticism piece on Hiroshima by John Hersey. That post helped me build my knowledge of literary analysis, and one thing I noticed in John Hersey’s writing was thoughtful diction. His use of words was seemed very intentional, like each decision was made very carefully. I wanted to be just as intentional with the decisions I made in my art as his writing was with words so the concept (the most important part) was communicated well. I didn’t want to have elements of the artwork that didn’t have importance to the concept, I tried to make sure everything I added to the art had meaning. In my artist’s statement, I explained more about the decisions I made for my art.
Echoes of The Atomic Age
Through this art piece, I hope to communicate how despite something seeming far away and maybe disconnected from an individual’s identity, it can still be intertwined in our personal lives without notice.
I find the idea of collections interesting. There are so many different types of collections a person might have, buttons, spoons, stamps, etcetera. There are curated collections in museums and art galleries. Personally I like to collect sea glass I find on beaches. As you explore this conceptual artwork, you will find that it too is a collection.
I chose to begin with exploring this idea on a personal level, asking which physical objects in my home might be there somehow as a result of the atomic bomb. This lead me to wondering what other objects found in people’s everyday lives can be traced back to the creation of the atom bomb. I present a collection of these items around an open space to impact the viewer. I used fine arts techniques to document the items in an archival format, connecting to their historical significance. The way I chose to use the space forces viewers to walk around, explore, and participate in it. I hope this makes someone more likely to stop and think about the impacts of the atomic bomb in their own life.
During the Atomic Age around the late 40’s and early 50’s, when the whole world had first discovered the existence of the atomic bomb, so many objects were created as a result of fascination or fear of this new weapon. These could be objects found in pop-culture, fashion, or technology that were influenced by the atomic bomb. These physical objects I highlight in my artwork also represent the less tangible impacts of the atomic bomb on society and culture like new fears, radiation, and the way we think about and view the world.
There are two main components to the artwork, the collection of items, and because it is conceptual art, the viewer’s participation. The collection of items can be recognized as things from everyday life, but are less likely to be immediately recognized as results or symbols of the atomic bomb. This again forces people looking at the art to think. The participation part of the artwork is not just the audience walking through it, but them making a physical contribution to it. I invite people to think of one way the impacts of the atomic bomb are a part of their life, as they tie one of the provided origami cranes to the frames and strings hanging from the ceiling. Origami is another art form I use in this piece, the art of paper folding. In the context of the bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, the origami crane is a symbol of hoping for peace, and the victims of Hiroshima. I felt it was important, especially after reading John Hersey’s Hiroshima, to include this perspective in the artwork.
Throughout the process of thinking, drawing, folding, and constructing for my artwork, I realized how I am impacted generations later, by the atomic bomb. I discovered how material items reflect our history, and how artworks like the one I’ve created can document and comment on history.
This artwork is not about the objects that it features, but the lasting impacts that the objects represent. My goal is for my audience to see these impacts reflected around the world and in detail of their own lives.
My artwork reflects the driving question because it shows the world changing due to the atomic bomb through symbolic and historically significant objects. It emphasizes that the consequences of the atomic bomb can be seen everywhere if you look hard enough.
There were so many things in this project that gave me the knowledge to create this artwork. Along with many notes about art (and the atomic bomb) in my Zettlekasten, I went to go see conceptual art in person (something I probably wouldn’t have thought of doing before this project). At the Yoko Ono exhibit at The Vancouver Art Gallery, I didn’t know what to expect or how I would feel about the art. I was surprised to really like the exhibit especially the instruction pieces. I realized if it’s done well, the concept being most important is one way art can be very powerful.
All of our artworks were presented at our winter exhibition. Conceptual art isn’t complete until it has an audience, so people coming to the exhibition was the last step in completing our work. I started working with a group to put together basically an art gallery inside of a classroom. Honestly this task seemed the most daunting because if you’ve seen a high school classroom you would know it does not look like an art gallery. Everything went better than expected since we worked great as a team, I think because we all were excited and dedicated to making sure that everything worked out.
I’m so glad we got to show our projects to lots of people because the feedback I got added more meaning to my artwork. One example of this is during set up I attached one string across the back or the picture frames so they wouldn’t swing around, the string didn’t have any deeper meaning than that. However, as people walked by and attached origami cranes to that string, people started noticing that it symbolically connects all of the objects together and brings together the whole artwork. I wonder what other ideas people would have had about the meaning of my artwork if there was no artist statement, or I wasn’t there to explain. Part of why I find so interesting about conceptual art is that everyone can interpret it differently.
In our class, especially at the end of a project, the question, “would you do it differently if you did it again?” comes up. I don’t say this often, but for this project I wouldn’t do it completely differently. I think everything I learned came together at the exhibition, and I was proud of what I created.