The Nuclear Series
 

Model for 'Sarcophagus'
1984, glazed ceramic
16-1/2 x 18-1/2 x 6-7/8"

General Nuke, SEPTEMBER 1984
Glazed ceramic and bronze on a granite base
77 3/4 x 30 x 36 3/4 in. (197.5 x 76.2 x 93.3 cm.)

Gift of Robert Arneson and Sandra Shannonhouse, 1990 


Inspired by the ceramic sculptures of Joan Miró and Peter Voulkos, Robert Arneson turned to that medium in the late 1950s. He quickly developed a humorous style of portraiture, especially self?portraits, in punning, ironic, or mocking modes. Yet, after confronting a diagnosis of cancer, the artist redirected his art in the early 1980s to address nuclear holocaust at a time of escalating armament by the two superpowers. Conceived when the United States and the Soviet Union temporarily abandoned negotiations on arms control, General Nuke presents a caustic, denigrating stereotype of a military leader. With bloody fangs and a phallic MX "peacekeeper" missile for its nose, the snarling head wears the helmet of a three?star general, which is covered with a global military map incised with abbreviations for the available nuclear weapons: ICBM, IRBM, ACLM, SLBM. Some inscriptions ridicule those who, in Arneson's view, foster war, while other markings provide facts about the impact of a one?megaton bomb ("Fallout: lethal 600 sq. mi., death risk 2000 sq. mi."). Even the pedestal is part of the message, for the head stands on a bronze pedestal depicting hundreds of charred, stacked corpses, resting on a base of granite-a material traditionally used for memorials.

Text adapted from "Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: 150 Works of Art" (1996), entry by Valerie J. Fletcher.

Nuclear Warhead, 1984
Earthenware, 36"h x 22"w

Crazy Nuke 1986
Glazed ceramic, chalk, wood base
h: 82 x w: 27 x d: 29 in