Found Art Project: Being Nuclear

The theme we chose for he Found Art Project was the theme of Nuclear Technology during the 1970s and 1980s. This theme included exploring the people, written works, movies, and main events that involved nuclear technology during that time period. As a result, our artwork reflected all those elements of nuclear technology, mainly the fear of nuclear warfare. The specific items we chose highlight this. The most thematic and obvious item is our Nuclear Waste Barrel that we used instead of the normal boxes for the Found Art Project. The nuclear waste barrel reflects the fear of Nuclear waste piling up in the US. The Ronald Reagan quote on our barrel also addresses the issue of fear of nuclear waste because Reagan said all the waste from a barrel could be stored under a desk per year. We also had a number of items, movie posters, that displayed the nuclear fear during the time. Movies such as Silkwood and The Day After, all capitalized on fear of nuclear war to establish their plots. We also showed numerous written works about nuclear warfare during the time. The watchmen cover, the book "Missile Envy", and the article about jobs in the Nuclear industry all showed different aspects of written works regarding nukes during the target era.

We obtained these items through numerous methods. The barrel, book cover, article, and sample missile were all obtained through actual searching and a certain element of luck. For example, we obtained our barrel by going to the scrap metal yard, and requesting a 55 gallon oil barrel to use for our project. We also obtained a book written during the era (Missile Envy) by asking one of our parents to help us out with any old antiques. We also found the newspaper article, and the nuclear chart using the same asking method.
If I had to do this again, I would certainly try and expand my potential sources of found art. We would also have attempted to find experts on the topic to aid us in understanding the topic of choice. I would advise next year's class to definitely start early. Also, picking a manageable topic, with many found art pieces available makes life significantly easier. Furthermore, I would recommend having a plan B if team members go missing, and encourage very effective communication between group members to aid the project.