(Chicago, Illinois, 1945 - October 27, 2017)
From the series "Nuclear Enchantment"
1991
Ilfocolor print
20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61.0 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of George Stephanopoulos
2008.138
Nagatani’s son Methuen (Met) and his Cub Scout friend are shown on a visit to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Turtles are used in a Japanese Buddhist ritual called H?j?-e or the Releasing of Life. The animals are set free in rivers, expressing the Buddhist prohibition against killing while also helping their liberator build up positive karma. The Los Alamos National Laboratory produced the nuclear weapon detonated at the Trinity Site along with “Fat Man” and “Little Boy.” The latter 2 bombs are estimated to have killed 200,000 people, many of them civilians.