Symbolic field of clay cones

Press, 29 July 1987, Page 21

Symbolic field of clay cones

From

TESSA WARD

in Denver

“Amber Wares of Grain” may seem an inappropriate title for a model display of the American range of nuclear weapons. Yet at first sight, the 34,000 small clay cones, neatly laid out, do look like a beautiful field of wheat shimmering in the light. Barbara Donachy, a Denver ceramic artist who built the display, took the title from a popular patriotic song, “America the Beautiful.” A closer inspection of her “field” quickly reveals that the thousands of clay cones and other models represent the country’s potential for destruction.

They also represent the world’s excessive capacity to destroy itself. Each clay cone represents a warhead capable of destroying a city the size of Boston.

First exhibited in New York in 1983, the artistic and educational display is continuing its tour round several major American and foreign art galleries and science museums. Barbara Donachy has added to her original 31,500 clay replicas of United States strategic and tactical warheads, but has not tried to keep

up with the continued growth in the country’s total nuclear arsenal.

Displayed with the clay cones are a thousand Intercontinental ballistic missiles, 640 submarinelaunched ballistic missiles, 108 Pershing missiles, 263 852 bomber planes, 61 FB-111 bombers, 29 Poseidon submarines and eight Trident submarines. These pieces in the display also lag behind the actual number of weapons, aircraft and vessels they represent.

Barbara now uses accompanying display panels of statistics and graphics, rather than more clay models, to keep abreast of the latest nuclear weapon figures. This year, the exhibit will be displayed in five Japanese cities, Including Hiroshima on August 6 (Hiroshima Day). At a conservative estimate, the world’s nuclear firepower today is 160,000 times the power of the 11-kiloton bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The display is likely to then go

to Minnesota, Barbara says. She has also received inquiries about taking it to some Australian cities.

Viewers have been invited to write their comments into an accompanying book, since the tour started. The result is already three books full of an intriguing range of responses, which Barbara is considering publishing. Some people have written in support of nuclear arms, with phrases such as “if it wasn’t for these we would all be speaking Russian” and “I didn’t know we had so much! Go America!” Others are wary that the display is a communist initiative, or at best “misleading.” Some people have commented more along the lines of: “Anyone who can look at this and contemplate expanding the nuclear arsenal is truly insane.” Barbara thought of the display when she was pregnant with her first child: “The reason I did it was from a strong instinct for

survival. You can’t close your eyes to the weapons.” With her husband, Andy Bardwell, she had visited Europe in 1981 and was impressed by the concern of several Europeans they met about the world’s nuclear arms build-up, which the couple then knew very little about. “President Reagan had commented that a limited nuclear war could be possible,” says Barbara Donachy. Many Europeans thought that their region was the most likely stage to be chosen for the start, at least, of such a war.

“On our return home, we lent our support to the 1982 United States-wide campaign calling for a mutual and verifiable ban on the testing, production and deployment of nuclear weapons. This campaign experience made me realise the importance of gaining media attention for the people’s voice to be heard.” After some research into the world’s nuclear arsenal, Barbara says she found it difficult to imagine the actual numbers of weapons.

Once construction of the model was under way Barbara received help and support from her husband and 70 friends and volunteers. Together, they built and fired the clay cones and other models each day for a year. "We got up every morning knowing we were going to cast warheads like other people get up every morning and build warheads,” says Barbara. “It began to numb us. “I think that is what happens to people in general and government officials. More and more nuclear weapons start to become an accepted thing.” Barbara and her husband spent more than $15,000 on the display. They later received a $lO,OOO grant from a foundation that funds peace and environmental campaigns. Barbara Donachy has also' been able to raise money for the display by selling individual clay cones and replacing them with new cones from her kiln. She is confident that the display will be shown in many more cities on a financially self-supporting basis.