2. Mijikadrek and Enjebi Islands, Operation Greenhouse, 1951_National Archives and Records Administration | © Crystal Bennes by courtesy of The Eriskay Connection
10. Nautical chart for Bikini Atoll overlaid with photograph of a beach on Kwajalein Atoll in 1963_credit Robert Kiste, Nuclear Diaspora collection University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa | © Crystal Bennes by courtesy of The Eriskay Connection
11. Photographers and their equipment on display in advance of Operation Crossroads, later referred to as Operation Camera by the press_National Archives and Records Administration | © Crystal Bennes by courtesy of The Eriskay Connection
About The Book
Klara and the Bomb is a photographical and historical work that charts connecting threads between the invention of modern computers, the history of nuclear weapons and, in particular, the narratives of the women involved.
These interconnected stories are told through the little-known life of Klara von Neumann, who came to the United States after marrying the noted mathematician John von Neumann. As one of the first computer programmers, Klara’s story highlights the extent to which women were involved in the development of both computing and nuclear weapons from the 1940s onwards.
Artist Crystal Bennes combines fieldwork images with archival research, declassified papers, military propaganda, historical images and an extensive textual narrative to bring these stories to life. Publisher’s Info
9. John and Klara von Neumann with Lewis Strauss, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission between 1953–58_image credit Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton | © Crystal Bennes by courtesy of The Eriskay Connection
18. Bikini Islanders leave their home in 1946, traveling aboard U.S. Navy landing ship 1108_National Archives and Records Administration | © Crystal Bennes by courtesy of The Eriskay Connection
Spreads from the book Klara and the Bomb © Crystal Bennes by courtesy of The Eriskay Connection
-> Further information: https://www.eriskayconnection.com/home/123-klara-and-the-bomb.html
About The Artist
Crystal Bennes (US) is an American artist and writer based in Scotland. Her practice is grounded in long-term projects which foreground archival research, durational fieldwork and material experimentation. Recent bodies of work include a photo essay on an artificial island made of radioactive, industrially-produced fertiliser waste and a weed garden exploring a nineteenth-century myth of accidental plant migration from Italy to Denmark.
Header Photo: A Lookout Mountain Laboratory cameraman wearing a protective suit_National Archives and Records Administration | © Crystal Bennes by courtesy of The Eriskay Connection