General Dynamics/L'atome au Service de la Paix/Hydrodynamics
Artist
Erik Nitsche
United States
Printer
Lithos R. Marsens, Lausanne
Date1955
MediumLithograph
Dimensions51 x 36 in. (129.5 x 91.4 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.1087
DescriptionFormed in 1952, General Dynamics was a relatively new player within the defense industry, acting as the parent company for a variety of corporations that manufactured everything from motors to supersonic jets. Its president, John Jay Hopkins, had broad ambitions for the organization; he wanted to create a marketing campaign that not only reinforced its role as a leader in the global marketplace but also emphasized its position at the forefront of scientific developments promoting international peace and prosperity. In 1955, shortly before the International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, Switzerland, Hopkins poached Swiss designer Erik Nitsche from Gotham Agency, an advertising firm that had worked independently for General Dynamics, making him its in-house art director. Nitsche’s first major project for General Dynamics was a six-poster series for the conference that perfectly merged sleek modernism with abstractions reflecting the complexities of science. The most famous of Nitsche’s posters in the series, this image depicts the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, emerging from an oversized nautilus shell with a small globe at its center. As this ancient shell has often symbolized the dawn of life on earth, the subtext of the design is that the submarine represents the next evolutionary phase of humanity. Built by its Electric Boat Division, the Nautilus was the crown jewel of General Dynamics’s portfolio, instantly elevating the company to the level of larger American firms like General Electric and Union Carbide. As the intricacies of the submarine were considered top secret, however, General Dynamics could not show a detailed model of it or any other atomic products at the conference. While all of the poster in this series were used both at the conference and around Geneva, a variant of this design was printed featuring the name of the vessel at the top in place of the phrase “atoms for peace.” It was distributed among U.S. territories as a means of corporate propaganda underlining American advancement in nuclear technology.
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