Gad, I came across these images in the early 80s researching a project in the archive of my old university. They've stayed with me all these because the stark quality of them had an imapct that no photo could ever capture. Think about that for a second, all anyone at Hiroshima who was taking pictures would have to do is simply point the …
Gad, I came across these images in the early 80s researching a project in the archive of my old university. They've stayed with me all these because the stark quality of them had an imapct that no photo could ever capture. Think about that for a second, all anyone at Hiroshima who was taking pictures would have to do is simply point the camera at any scene of devestation and click: he would probably have an image that would have been quite memorable if not harrowing. Paintings like those here on the other hand require a long chain of deliberate decisions on the part of the painter as to color and shading, angle of view etc, all of which demand an immense knowledge of the subject, far more than the average person would have: it wouldn't surprise me to learn that the painter had trouble sleeping at night given what he Had to know to get this as right as it seems,...
Funny thing, for me at least, is that these images arn't the most powerful of the moment of a nuclear attack or the seconds after the Bombs detonate: that honor would have to go with the scene of nuclear devastation that appeared in the Twilight Zone Episode called "Time Enough To Last" . I've watched the episode about a dozen times since first seeing it as a kid and it never fails to impress me in the way that it conveys a sense of utter desolation after a nuclear exchange while at the same time avoiding all the cliches of a nuclear attack(mushroom cloud image, raging fires, charred bodies etc): all you get in that episode are visuals that imply an immense power visiting Burgess Merideth and the community he lives, one so powerful that it might not even be possible to look at without being destroyed(shades of the Gorgon!).
Gad, I came across these images in the early 80s researching a project in the archive of my old university. They've stayed with me all these because the stark quality of them had an imapct that no photo could ever capture. Think about that for a second, all anyone at Hiroshima who was taking pictures would have to do is simply point the camera at any scene of devestation and click: he would probably have an image that would have been quite memorable if not harrowing. Paintings like those here on the other hand require a long chain of deliberate decisions on the part of the painter as to color and shading, angle of view etc, all of which demand an immense knowledge of the subject, far more than the average person would have: it wouldn't surprise me to learn that the painter had trouble sleeping at night given what he Had to know to get this as right as it seems,...
Funny thing, for me at least, is that these images arn't the most powerful of the moment of a nuclear attack or the seconds after the Bombs detonate: that honor would have to go with the scene of nuclear devastation that appeared in the Twilight Zone Episode called "Time Enough To Last" . I've watched the episode about a dozen times since first seeing it as a kid and it never fails to impress me in the way that it conveys a sense of utter desolation after a nuclear exchange while at the same time avoiding all the cliches of a nuclear attack(mushroom cloud image, raging fires, charred bodies etc): all you get in that episode are visuals that imply an immense power visiting Burgess Merideth and the community he lives, one so powerful that it might not even be possible to look at without being destroyed(shades of the Gorgon!).