Framed Weapon Artwork
America has a particularly strong military history with a particular pride in the strength and fortitude of its armed history. With such a history, perhaps it is unsurprising that there exists a distinct subgenre of framed weapon posters. These posters, often photographic in nature, can include anything from historically significant renderings of outdated weapons, or photographs of modern technology, or images from the past that demonstrate the sheer might of our weapons technology through the years. Whatever the case, there is a definite audience for this artwork, and it seems to only be on the rise.
Some of the most simplistic and straightforward examples of framed weapon poster art, such as Falick-Mittleman’s “Authetnic Early American Pistols (Set 6)” simply show weapons in their most inert state. These are faithfully rendered mechanical drawings that simply illustrate the aesthetic presence of these historical guns without ever showcasing them in action or as objects of power. They are elegant, still, scientific. Some appreciate this approach to their representation.
Of course, no collection of framed weapons wall posters could be considered complete without some representation of what is widely considered the most powerful display of force in the scope of human technology—the atomic bomb. Surprisingly, a number of photographs exist of the tests behind this weapon, such as Nuclear Bomb Explosion Test, April 22, 1952” and “Atomic Bomb Testing in a Desert, Camp Desert Rock”. Both of these are truly awe-inspiring and humbling records of a shocking period in history.
The atomic bomb was a marvel in and of itself, but even more humbling that direct portrayals of its might are the records we have of its effect on the human psyche and on the day-to-day lives of very real individuals. One photograph with a title that begins “Clock from Nagasaki, stopped at 11:02 AM” perfectly captures a moment at which the Earth truly stood still.