The Doomsday Clock has been called “the most iconic graphic design of the twentieth century” and it continues to stop the news cycle around the world at its yearly setting. This event explores Martyl Langsdorf’s role as a Chicago artist, and the mid-century modern influences that helped her create the globally-recognized Doomsday Clock symbol. 

The discussion features design historian Michael J. Golec, Department Chair and Design History Coordinator at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and art historian Maggie Taft, co-editor of the forthcoming book Art in Chicago: A History from the Fire to Now, and is led by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists President and CEO Rachel Bronson. 

The conversation is presented in conjunction with a weeklong exhibition It is Two Minutes to Midnight produced by Ellen Sandor and (art)n. This innovative new work reveals the heightened threats of nuclear warfare, growing tensions between nations, and environmental factors of climate change. It features Martyl's landscape paintings, the Doomsday Clock, and archived materials from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.