Kamilo Tompa
Atomic Mushroom Cloud, undated
ink on paper
345 x 255 mm
MG-5730
Visual art has seldom succeeded in capturing the devastating power of the atomic bomb. Attempts by traditional visual arts to portray atomic explosions have often veered toward sentimentality, to the extent that painters and sculptors seem to have left this subject to film and photography. Indeed, one of the most striking and critical representations of the atomic bomb may be found in experimental film. Bruce Conner’s 1975 short film Crossroads presents an underwater atomic explosion carried out by the U.S. military at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in 1946. The film consists solely of archival military footage, played in slow motion and extended to a length of 37 minutes.
Perhaps it was his early attempt in 1937 to construct a stroboscope to create his own animated film; perhaps it was his failed stroboscope experiment that led him to write to Walt Disney, sending drawings and requesting funds to pursue his vision; or perhaps it was his keen interest in aeronautics and astronomy – whatever the reason, Kamilo Tompa succeeded in depicting an atomic explosion through the traditional medium of painting. He particularly excelled in conveying the rise of the radioactive dust cloud; the force of this movement is vividly clear, adding a sinister quality to the drawing. The drawing also has a playful quality – some forms emerged almost by accident, with the tilting of the paper and the spread of black ink – yet this does not lessen the scene’s gravity. Tompa obtained a degree in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1926. He joined the Zemlja Association of Artists in 1931, the same year he founded the People’s Theatre in Zagreb. His interests were broad and varied – animated film, children’s creativity, theatre, set design, and more – and he found success in each of these areas. In 1967, he received the Vladimir Nazor Lifetime Achievement Award.
Text: Klaudio Štefančić, senior curator of the National Museum of Modern Art © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb
Translated by: Robertina Tomić
Photo: Goran Vranić © National Museum of Modern Art, Zagreb