Doug Waterfield
UNK Department of Art and Art History chair and associate professor, 308.865.8352 or waterfieldd2@unk.edu
Exploring the paranoia of the atomic 1950s and 60s in America, Doug Waterfield’s exhibit, titled “Doomtown,” is on display now through September at the space:eight gallery in St. Augustine, Fla.
“Doug’s apocalyptic yet colorful work harkens back to a time when crouching under your desk, head in hands as a third grader, seemed natural,” said space:eight gallery owner Rob DePiazza. “Doomtown” features a series of oil and acrylic paintings. Waterfield is chair and an associate professor in the University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Art and Art History.
According to Waterfield, “Doomtown” depicts the phenomenon of atomic culture and the intense psychological symbol of the mushroom cloud.
“The entire issue of the use of the atomic bomb is extremely complex,” Waterfield said. “Were it not for the deterrent of the bomb, World War II would not have ended as it did.”
Waterfield said that through his research he learned that casinos in Las Vegas would host rooftop “viewing parties” to watch the bombs go off.
“The juxtaposition of the mushroom cloud over the glitz and glamour of Sin City became one of my favorites, a symbol of excess as well as the height of atomic culture,” Waterfield said.
For more information, or to view Waterfield’s work, visit: www.dougwaterfield.com
In 2011, The works were exhibited at the National Nuclear Science Museum in Albuquerque, N.M. The “Doomtown” series will also be exhibited at the Cold War Air Museum in Lancaster, Texas, in the summer of 2013, and at the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) in the summer of 2014.
