Near the end of WW2, Japan had taken a strong offensive on the United States by bombing Pearl Harbor in an effort to cripple the US's Naval fleet. Though effective, the US eventually recovered and continued on to develop two atomic bombs, both of which were later dropped on Japan (Duiker and Spielvogel). When the bomb dropped in Hiroshima, 140,000 were killed, and when the bomb was dropped in Nagasaki, over 73,000 were killed (Levine). But these numbers don't account for those who later died of radiation poison and, the babies who had defects due to the high levels of radiation in the air. Given that each of the bombs weighed over 8,000 pounds, the results are not at all surprising (Levine). But this final bombing failed to accomplish its true intent: the end the war to end all wars. What actually happened was that people were convinced by the effectiveness of atomic weaponry, and years upon years of stockpiling and research began. As a result, the world today has at the very least 28,091 nuclear warheads (Arms Control Association). And that doesn't hold into account all the countries and terrorists who have nuclear weapons unofficially. And in one year alone, the United States managed to spend over 35 billion dollars on nuclear weapons (The Brookings Institution). All that money could have been used to fight poverty in Africa, or cure cancer, but instead it was spent on developing better, and quicker ways to kill.
As an artist, Seb Janiak always wanted to be a rebel and had an “anti-establishment” flair about his works, whether it be photography, graphic design, or film (Janiak). This was caused by the fact that when he came to the United States, he resided in Los Angeles and became engulfed in the surf and rock and roll culture of the 70's, being greatly influenced by futuristic films such as Star Wars and Blade Runner (Herber). What he later went on to create was a new graphic design technique known as digital matte painting, in which two separate images are merged together to produce one strikingly realistic, seamless image, an editing tool used in “Downtown Atomic L.A.” (Herber). In his work we see a vastly populated civilian city being bombed with weapons that seem to have power rivaling those of modern atomic weapons. The mushroom clouds are designed to resemble those photographed after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Though, Janiak did not actually live during WW2 and the bombing of Japan, he was definitely influenced by the art and media that came to life as a result of the bombing. In the first Star Wars movie, Darth Vader tries to use the Death Star’ Laser, to literally obliterate the entire planet of Yavin IV (Wikipedia). This whole notion of destroying an entire population by using just one bomb was inspired by the US's bombing on Japan. Also, the fact that the bombs are falling on a civilian population and not a military base or factory, is a strong reminder to Guernica and the fact that the Nazis chose to attack the morale of the people, rather than target military targets. Also, the woman in the foreground is Asian, possibly a reference to Japan, but more importantly, she is dressed in some futuristic garb, not the clothing of today. What this shows us is a glimpse into the future. The fact that she is a part of the future, shows us that as a society, we are leading ourselves down a path of destruction. Janiak is sending out a warning to us all, telling us that if we do not change ways we will reach a point of destruction, from which we will never recover. And the position of the woman on a rock set away from the city gives a possibly ironic view. During the bombing of Japan, the Japanese people were suffering in the city, while the Americans watched on. Now the Japanese are watching on as LA is bombed. And lastly, one can notice that there are three suns in the sky instead of just one. This sets a sort of futuristic tone, just like the movies “Blade Runner” and “Star Wars” that influenced Janiak in his early days. With this work, Janiak is rebelling from the status quo, and trying to inspire change for survival of humanity.
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