A Brief History

Because the Anti-Nuclear War Head is both art object and protest piece, its exhibition history, which began in the 1980s, was incredibly diverse in that it included galleries, peace conferences, citizens groups, and demonstrations. The piece was introduced to the public for the first time at the June 12, 1982 Rally For Disarmament, in New York’s Central Park. Early editions were then carried by the artists and their friends across the globe, destinations included: Galleria Estampa, Madrid, The Nuclear Weapons Freeze Conference in St. Louis (1984), (Soviet) Women Concerned About Nuclear War (1985), and the simulated "Underground Test" outside the gate of the Nevada Test Site in support of Utahns United to End the Arms Race and Downwinders. Among the individuals who received Anti-Nuclear War Heads during this time were Carl Sagan and Don Priester (Participant in the Great Peace March, 1986). Willem J. Kolff M.D., the co-creator of the first Artificial Heart, had several and presented them as gifts during his travels.

The Present

In 2010, under the guidance of Trast Howard and Keiko Yanagida the Anti-Nuclear War Head made its way back into the cultural landscape where its poignant and poetic approach to communicating vigilance to an ever-present nuclear threat can be relayed once more through its positive message: Represent the human species against its most immediate threat...itself.

JUNE 12, 1982

The biggest demonstration on earth (until the global anti-Iraq war march of Feb 15, 2003) took place in New York on June 12, 1982, when one million people gathered in support of the second UN Special Session on Disarmament to protest nuclear weapons. (1)(2) On that date, concerned individuals, groups and organizations from around the world voiced their objections in an effort to once and for all rid the planet of nuclear arms. It was history in the making, and on the great lawn of New York's Central Park, Anti-Nuclear War Heads were there, making their debut as a symbol of "mass deterrence" against the bomb. (3) It is this idealism, the idealism of June 12, and the idea that there is strength in numbers that the Anti-Nuclear War Head carries forward to this day. The rally may be over but the protest endures...




Represent the human species.
Become an Anti-Nuclear War Head.

(1) On June 12, 1982, one million people demonstrated in New York City's Central Park against nuclear weapons and for an end to the cold war arms race. It was the largest anti-nuclear protest and the largest demonstration in history -- Wikipedia, Anti-Nuclear movement in the United States. (2) International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. (3) After June 12, and throughout the 80’s Piercey and Hoffman manufactured, distributed and exhibited Anti-Nuclear War Heads, taking them to many events in support of the Nuclear Freeze movement, against the MX missile, and for fair compensation for "downwinders" and other victims of atomic testing. Not confining their efforts to the U.S., world leaders were also sent Anti-Nuclear War Heads to make them aware that a protest was underway which objected to the existence of their countries' nuclear stockpiles.