Maker

For Whom the Bell Tolls

David Gurman’s installation rings bells to make people aware of ongoing military tests hundreds of miles away. By Katie Kurtz

Divine Strake Project, a sculptural installation by Bay Area artist David Gurman, is an

intricate, collaborative project that addresses several complex issues: institutional land use, military

strength, and unseen forces that have the power to irrecoverably shape our lives. The project consists

of bells that are rigged to chime when software detects seismic activity at the Nevada Test Site, a desert

facility where the U.S. military has conducted nuclear weapons testing since 1951. Named for an actual

large-yield, nonnuclear, high-explosive test slated to happen earlier this year but since halted, Gurman’s

Divine Strake is a hybrid of new and old technologies that addresses the complicated fact of war.

Exhibit dates and locations for 2008 are available online at davidgurman.com.

Photograph by Katie Kurtz

40 Make: Volume 12