Amarillo Museum of Art features ‘Critical Mass’ atomic bomb, history exhibit

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The Amarillo Museum of Art has a new exhibit examining the impact the development of the atomic bomb had on New Mexico.

Critical Mass is a collaborative photo, text and video installation that looks at the worlds of scientists and Native Americans as they intersected at the home of Edith Warner during the making of the first atomic bomb in 1944 in Los Alamos, New Mexico, according to a press release.

The installation was developed in 1989 after photographer Meridel Rubenstein and performance artist and poet Ellen Zweig received an NEA Inter-Arts grant, according to the release.

Museum officials say the exhibit presented in Amarillo includes Rubenstein’s photoworks and the artists’ book, “They Spoke to the Angels,” with Zweig’s poetic texts.

Most of the works presented are complex portraits of either people the artists learned about through historical records or people the artists met and photographed.

Museum officials say the exhibit will run until Dec. 3.

Copyright 2023 KFDA. All rights reserved.