More about The Atomic Alphabet
Contributor
Chris Burden’s Atomic Alphabet is basically “War for Dummies.”
This piece introduces the alphabet though a child’s learning chart with examples pulled from war jargon. For example, A for Atomic, B for Bomb, C for Combat etc. These word are followed by the Chinese symbol for that word and then by a small drawing. Burden made this piece in response to the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Obviously it was a negative response but I guess this is perfect for learning how to read?
Another fun part of this piece was that it was a performance as well as a print. Burden dressed in all leather and read the words while loudly and angrily stomping to emphasize each letter- something fun you can do with your children while they learn the alphabet! They say songs are a great way to learn.
There are twenty of these posters in existence and they are owned, for the most part, by museums around the country. These prints, though a strong political statement, are still incredibly tame in comparison to his other pieces, like the one where he had a friend shoot him in the arm or the one where he crucified himself on a VW bug. (Could his name be any more fitted to his art? I think not.) Burden had a real knack for intensity and though the approach is different, Atomic Alphabet is no less violent and no less disturbing. The difference with Atomic Alphabet is that it takes a minute to sink in and creep you out.
Sources
- "Whitney Museum Of American Art: Chris Burden: The Atomic Alphabet". Collection.whitney.org. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
- Schjeldahl, Peter. "PERFORMANCE Chris Burden And The Limits Of Art.". The New Yorker. N.p., 2007. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
- Chris Burden - "The Atomic Alphabet" (1982). Modo de Usar, 2009. video.