Label
2024, "Beyond the Iron Curtain: Visions from the Cold War"
Duck and cover! Get your umbrellas out! A nuclear bomb just went off! The lithograph pictured here was created by Michael Jacobson in 1985 while attending Washburn University. It depicts a large silver cyborg standing over a small gold cyborg holding an umbrella. The quote below the image is by Jonathan Schell, from his book The Fate of the Earth, which is an abstract discussion of survivability and balance of power during nuclear proliferation and consequences humanity would face. The earth under the silver cyborg (representing nuclear destruction) is being swept away, while an atom bomb explodes in the background. In the style of a political cartoon, this artwork illustrates Schell’s warning that if we continue to allow nuclear proliferation, not only mankind, but also the earth, may face annihilation. Both Schell’s book and this artwork challenge humanity to choose disarmament before it is too late.
Text by Hailey Houser, Washburn student