Break Into blossom

“Break Into Blossom” is an artistic visual interpretation of the story “Einstein Saves Hiroshima” from the book Pages from the Textbook of Alternate History by Mizzou Professor Phong Nguyen. In the story, Einstein refuses to sign the letter written by his friend and fellow scientist Leo Szilard which, would galvanize support for the Manhattan Project. The project proceeds underfunded, and what would have been a nuclear weapon (the bomb Little Boy) is a dud that, instead of detonating over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, passes through a cherry tree and lands with a thud, rolling and settling, then over the years gathering moss and lichen. The finished piece is a painted, life-size sculpture of Little Boy, surrounded by cherry blossoms from cherry blossom trees (represented in Tyvek hand cut-paper scrolls that hang from the ceiling).
Break into Blossoms took a year to create. Every mark on the sculpture and cut on the three 20-foot scrolls, was done by hand. “Little Boy,” which is built to scale of the actual bomb (10 feet). The sculpture is made from contrition foam, and is hand painted and aged with moss and pigments. The hand cut the 3-20 foot scrolls surround the sculpture. The piece has an audience interaction component where there are blossoms available for viewers to write their wishes for the future and place them on the piece itself. These blossoms will be collected for a future piece.
Break Into Blossoms causes us to reexamine the past and ask “what if?” The aged, moss-covered and undetonated “Little Boy” is a testament to what might-have-been. We are all aware of living in a time when brash actors or irresponsible leadership could draw us into actions and policies that we will one day have cause to regret. To think and rethink the actions of our past is an important step towards acting righteously and intentionally in the future. The hope is that visitors come away feeling thoughtful about the past, present, and future, and experience a bit of whiplash at the realization that we live in the reality we do, and, just maybe, work towards creating a better reality. This pieces was originally commission by the Wing Luke Museum for the 2017-2018 Teardrops That Wound: the Absurdity of War, George Tsutakawa Art Gallery, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian and Pacific American Experience, and was features in 2018 Open Spaces (curated by Dan Cameron),Truman Library and Museum, Independence, MO, and featured at 2019 Stranger/Host, True/False Film Festival, Picture House, Columbia, MO.