a distant catastrophe does affect the “ local business ” of everyday life of regular citizens even if they are unaware of it . The incongruity of a 18 th century rustic landscape against a 21 st century image of catastrophic nuclear violence suggests that all people — past and future — experience the effects of nuclear weaponry , and that even in natural settings we are at risk of annihilation .
To observe how the Manhattan Project affects my “ local business ,” I include the following photos , reminiscent of the image on the Titus Andronicus album , and which are from my collection of Oppenheimer ranch pictures I have taken over the course of 30 years .
The ranch viewed from the west resonates with the landscape of the original “ Local Business ” album cover art in part because the photo also shows a tree and a house to the right and a path left of center . Although people are not visible in the photo , one is implied behind the lens . Of course no mushroom cloud balloons behind the trees , but the cabin itself is a metaphor for the history of the Manhattan Project . The Los Alamos location for the Project was a result of Robert Oppenheimer ’ s youthful horseback riding in the area and his subsequent purchase of the old ranch property , where I later lived as a young child . The ranch is a marker of the history of triumph and catastrophe , and it is a home .
An east-facing view of the ranch circa 1991 ( fig . 5 ) parallels similar iconic images that other photographers have published in prominent research books . For example , see Bird and Sherwin ’ s American Prometheus , p . 274 , photo 17 for a more recent photo of the ranch , commonly called “ Perro Caliente ” in biographical literature .
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