Q & A: The Art Of Transmutation

摘要

James Acord is the only sculptor licensed to work with radioactive materials. Formally trained in nuclear physics, he tells Nature why he thinks contaminated nuclear sites should be marked for future generations and explains his obsession with the nuclear age.rnWhy do you think nuclear sites should be marked?rnThe land around the decommissioned US nuclear-processing facility in Hanford, Washington state, is so contaminated that it will never be completely cleaned up. Far into the future the site should carry warnings that transcend changes in language and society to discourage people from growing crops there. I would love to produce something of lasting aesthetic significance, both as a warning marker and as a commemorative piece for the advent of the nuclear age. I lived at the site for 7 years but I never really fitted in. Being an artist made me an outsider in a largely engineering and scientific community. I live in Seattle now.