Countdown is a photo book project that features the work of artists Jeanine Michna-Bales and Adam Reynolds. Both artists explore remnants of the Cold War era. Michna-Bales looks at the defensive aspects of bomb shelters, while Reynolds depicts the contrasting offensive aspects of missile silos.
Each artist’s work comprises one-half of the book allowing for two front covers when the book is flipped. The center gatefold is a collaborative work at the point where each half of the book meets. Inserts within inside cover pockets contain an essay by Slate columnist Fred Kaplan, and caption information from the artists.
Each artist expanded their work from straight photo documentation to include additional layers of meaning. Michna-Bales overlayed some of her images with charts and texts from vintage civil defense documents to create a detached and institutional component to the decaying spaces she documents. Reynolds experimented with glitch technology that created urgent and alarming disruptions in his already ominous images.
The design is intended to reference period typefaces and colors but appear as a neutral framework for the art.
- Graphic Designer
- James Sholly
- Graphic Designer
- Jon Sholly
- Artist
- Jeanine Michna-Bales
- Artist
- Adam Reynolds
- Writer
- Fred Kaplan
