General Dynamics/Exploring the Universe/Weather Control
Artist
Erik Nitsche
United States
Printer
Lithos R. Marsens, Lausanne
Date1957
MediumLithograph
Dimensions51 x 36 in. (129.5 x 91.4 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.1083
DescriptionDuring the 1950s, General Dynamics and other companies were researching the possibility of controlling the weather through science in order to use it against the Soviet Union. The United States even created a President’s Advisory Committee on Weather Control in 1953 to monitor these developments. Many of the proposed modifications may sound ridiculous today, including melting the polar ice caps to flood enemy territory and building a nuclear-powered dam across the Bering Straits to redirect the Pacific Ocean and cause a heatwave. Nevertheless, interest in weather control persists today, with initiatives like cloud seeding (introducing chemicals to clouds to produce precipitation) and space mirrors (satellites that reflect solar radiation away from earth) regularly making the news. In this poster, General Dynamics designer Erik Nitsche sets a beaker containing a swirl of clouds and weather patterns on top of a topographic map, indicating the hope that research could ultimately allow the harnessing of Mother Nature as a weapon. On View
Not on view
