Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon
In 2018 the Doomsday Clock was set to two minutes to midnight, the closest it has ever been to striking midnight since the height of the Cold War in 1953 when both the United States and the Soviet Union tested thermonuclear weapons for the first time within ten months of each other. Today, while the Cold War’s lessons and fears have largely faded from our collective memory, it is critical to view a decidedly uncertain present through the lens of the past.
The Doomsday Clock is a symbol created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as a metaphor to communicate humanity’s proximity to self-destruction. The Doomsday Clock and “2 Minutes to Midnight” are both protected trademarks of the Bulletin, a nonprofit organization that equips the public, policymakers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man-made threats to our existence. Visit: http://thebulletin.org learn more.
Through two photographic essays, photographers Jeanine Michna-Bales and Adam Reynolds offer a calculated look at the “Architecture of Armageddon,” both the offensive and defensive implications of nuclear war. These quiet architectural spaces, devoid of people, allow viewers to come face to face with present nuclear realities while also offering a look into the collective psyche of the American people during the Cold War.
Reynolds’s project, No Lone Zone, documents the offensive side of the Cold War through nuclear missile silos in the United States. It provides a contemplated look at the nuts and bolts of Mutually Assured Destruction, the MAD logic behind nuclear deterrence. Michna-Bales’s project, Fallout, delivers typological documentation of the defensive side through various shelters and propaganda across the United States, both private and public. These fallout shelters, endorsed through Civil Defense programs, in reality offered little more than a government sponsored placebo to the American people, convincing them that something tangible was being done in the event of a nuclear holocaust.
This exhibition is aimed to spark curiosity, and encourage discourse among audiences of all backgrounds as the works seek out places that are often hidden in plain sight. While Mid-America Arts Alliance and Exhibits USA consulted with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon, it is not an official Bulletin exhibit.
About the artists
Jeanine Michna-Bales is a fine artist working in the medium of photography. Her work explores our fundamentally important relationships—to the land, to other people and to oneself—and how they impact contemporary society. Her work lives at the intersection of curiosity and knowledge, documentary and fine art, past and present, anthropology and sociology, and environmentalism and activism. Her practice is based on in-depth research—taking into account different viewpoints, causes and effects, political climates—and she often incorporates primary source material into her projects. Her images have appeared in solo and group exhibitions around the United States, including ExhibitsUSA’s current traveling exhibition Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad.
Adam Reynolds is a documentary photographer whose work focuses on contemporary political conflict. He pursues visual research projects that balance photographic creativity with a journalist’s thematic fidelity. Reynolds has worked as a freelance photojournalist in the United States and the Middle East, where he lived in Israel/Palestine, Egypt, and Yemen. Reynolds’s photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad.
Tour Schedule
Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon is touring April 2021 through March 2026. The dates below reflect seven-week exhibition periods. Dates are subject to change; please contact MoreArt@maaa.org or (800) 473-3872 x208/209 for current availability.
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April 6–May 25, 2021
Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum
Temple, TX booked -
June 16–August 11, 2021
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX booked -
September 1, 2021-January 7, 2022
Irving Museum and Archives
Irving, TX booked -
November 10, 2022–January 7, 2023
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Albuqueque, NM booked -
January 28–March 16, 2023
Museum of Science and History
Memphis, TN booked -
September 1–October 20, 2023
Louisiana Old State Capitol
Baton Rouge, LA booked -
November 10, 2023–January 7, 2024
Refurbishment
Kansas City, MO booked -
January 28–March 16, 2024
National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force
Pooler, GA booked -
June 16–August 11, 2024
City of Carrollton
Carrollton, TX pending -
September 1, 2024–January 7, 2025
MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History
Little Rock, AR pending -
January 28–March 16, 2025
available -
April 6–May 25, 2025
available -
June 16–August 11, 2025
Park City Museum
Park City, UT booked -
September 1–October 20, 2025
Western Heritage Museum
Hobbs, NM booked -
November 10, 2025–January 7, 2026
available -
January 28–March 16, 2026
available
Exhibition Details
48 photographic images
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Content
Fee Includes:
Press Kit
Registrar’s Packet
Programming Guide
Text Panels
Narrative Labels
Full Insurance
Installation Instructions
Custom-Designed and Built Crates -
Curated By
ExhibitsUSA, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, MO
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Organized By
ExhibitsUSA, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, MO
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Out-of-Region Rental Fee
$6,300
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In-Region Rental Fee
$3780
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Duration
7 weeks
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Shipping
Van Line
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Running Feet
275 minimum
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Square Feet
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Security
Moderate B
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Number of Crates/Total Weight
4 crates estimated/TBD
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Insurance
The exhibition is fully insured by ExhibitsUSA at no additional expense to you, both while installed and during transit.
Downloads & Resources
Click HERE to view and download the Factsheet for Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon.