''Critical Assembly '' is a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

by American artist

Jim Sanborn Herbert James Sanborn, Jr. (born November 14, 1945) is an American List of sculptors, sculptor. He is best known for creating the encrypted ''Kryptos'' sculpture at Central Intelligence Agency, CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Biography S ...

which was displayed at the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 2003. It included several elements, some actual and some re-created, which were part of the first project at Los Alamos laboratories to design the first

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

Sculpture

''Critical Assembly'' was displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2003 during an exhibit entitled "Atomic Time: Pure Science and Seduction." The main part of the sculpture is a three-dimensional representation of components of an

. The artwork included a disassembled sphere that had been designed to hold the nuclear payload of

plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

and

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

. Sanborn purchased the blank sphere from prior lab employees who had bought them as surplus after the experiments of the project ceased. The sculpture was surrounded by black cables which draped underneath eight tables holding different devices used in the

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

and implementation of the first atomic bomb. The actual cabinet-sized detection equipment used at Los Alamos were also on display. The sounds from

Geiger counter A Geiger counter (, ; also known as a Geiger–Müller counter or G-M counter) is an electronic instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation with the use of a Geiger–Müller tube. It is widely used in applications such as radiat ...

s could be heard within the room, indicating low levels of radiation coming from four radium wrist watches. On the wall was a blue

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

clock dial that was frozen at 5:30 a.m., July 16, 1945, the time of the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

blast in

Alamogordo, New Mexico Alamogordo () is a city in and the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force ...

. Sanborn himself was born in 1945, in Washington, D.C.

History

For a number of years preceding the unveiling of ''Critical Assembly'', Sanborn made several trips to Los Alamos, New Mexico. This was the site where the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

worked on the world's first atomic bomb. With the assistance of retired scientists, hobbyists, and

collectors Collector(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Collector (2011 film), ''Collector'' (2011 film), an Indian Malayalam film * Collector (2016 film), ''Collector'' (2016 film), a Russian film * Collectors (film), ''Collectors'' (film), a 2020 So ...

, he obtained actual lab equipment used in the atomic bomb's research. With this equipment he pieced together a "life-size re-creation of a hypothetical atomic lab." In 2017, the sculpture was permanently installed at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, NM.

Critical reception

Blake Gopnik from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote that "Sanborn's installation brings us face to face, in the most immediate way imaginable, with what it means to make an atom bomb. That may turn out to be the most pressing issue our species will ever face." The Corcoran Gallery of Art

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

Jonathan Binstock called the artwork "a unique brew of historical accuracy and aesthetic license."

References

{{Jim Sanborn Sculptures by Jim Sanborn 2003 sculptures