Reliquary, 1986, Cast bronze, mahogany, satin, painted wood, 24"w. X 28"d. X 56"h.

Reliquary

"I was born in 1950, and like children of my generation and generations since, I have lived my life in the shadow of the atomic bomb," says Nutt. Frustrated by nuclear policies and strategies such as "mutually assured destruction," Craig Nutt wanted to make a statement about the environmental impact of nuclear war and the emotional toll of that threat. "The politicians and generals all seemed to treat the bomb as an abstract strategic card to be played as it suits our global interests. I wanted to place the consequences of a nuclear exchange in a personal context - as when you see someone you love in a coffin. I wanted the work to be at once beautiful and horrible."

Intended also to suggest a box made to contain a precious object like a relic or a jewel, the coffin is hand-dovetailed mahogany. The domed lid is lathe-turned and lined with pleated satin, gathered to a radiation symbol button of satinwood and padauk. The handles are polished cast bronze. The lid is supported by black missiles.

The globe is cast bronze with blue and brown patina. The land masses are composed of bones, building materials, car parts - the stuff of civilization - melted together.