Atomic Art Around a Hot Bikini Cloud, 1946

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

The nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. on Bikini Atoll in the summer of 1946 marked the advent of the Atomic Age. The fascination with the Bomb and the fears of its destructive potential were processed and often trivialized in American visual culture and entertainment. The anxieties over nuclear power alongside the breakdown of East-West relations in 1946 also impacted on art. This article explores some of the consequences of the events of 1946 for art exhibitions, critics, and artists, such as Newman and Pollock. Their work responded both to the new nuclear reality and the desire to forge a modern American art and identity, distinct from European, especially French models. Their assertive approaches contrast with the strategies by Wols and Bram Van Velde in Paris, who insisted on the derisory importance of their project in light of atomic power and the Cold War.