Consuming Danger, Signifying Danger: Postnuclear Monuments, museums and Gardens

Abstract

Marked by the scientific discovery of atomic energy, the nuclear age, which spans the twentieth century, has changed the nature of culture as well as the landscape. Despite recent talks on nuclear disarmament, the dread of nuclear arms production, proliferation, and waste storage is pervasive at both global and local levels, haunting governments, communities, and individuals alike. Nuclear sites concern not only scientists and politicians but also environmental designers. The need to evoke a cultural discourse, protect future generations, reveal or conceal radioactive burial sites, and recycle retired installations engenders the participation of artists and designers. How do designers intersect with these hellish places? Do we have a potent role in addressing this conundrum? In what follows, I confront the consumption and design of today’s most daunting places - the landscapes of nuclear and radioactive material production, processing, testing, and burial.