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Unit4AViewofMountainsJonathanSchell1.OnAugust9,1945,thedaytheatomicbombwasdroppedonNagasaki,YosukeYamahata,aphotographerservingintheJapanesearmy,wasdispatchedtothedestroyedcity.Thehundredorsopictureshetookthenextdayconstitutethefullestphotographicrecordofnucleardestructioninexistence.Hiroshima,destroyedthreedaysearlier,hadlargelyescapedthecamera’slensinthefirstdayafterthebombing.ItwasthereforelefttoYamahatatorecord,methodically－and,asithappens,withagreatandsimpleartistry–theeffectsonahumanpopulationofanuclearweapononlyhoursafterithadbeenused.SomeofYamahata’spicturesshowcorpsescharredinthepeculiarwayinwhichanuclearfireballcharsitsvictims.Theyhavebeenburnedbylight–technicallyspeaking,bythe“thermalpulse”－andtheirbodiesareoftenbrandedwiththepatternsoftheirclothes,whosecolorsabsorblightindifferentdegrees.Onephotographshowsahorsetwistedunderthecartithadbeenpulling.Anothershowsaheapofsomethingthatoncehadbeenahumanbeinghangingoveraledgeintoaditch.Athirdshowsagirlwhohassomehowsurvivedunwoundedstandingintheopenmouthofabombshelterandsmilinganunearthlysmile,shockinguswiththesightofordinarylife,whichotherwiseseemstohavebeenleftbehindforgoodinthesceneswearewitnessing.Stretchingintothedistanceonallsidesarefieldsofrubbledottedwithfires,and,inthebackground,aviewofmountains.Wecanseethemountainsbecausethecityisgone.Thatabsence,evenmorethanwreckage,containstheheartofthematter.Thetruemeasureoftheeventliesnotinwhatremainsbutinallthathasdisappeared.2.IttookafewsecondsfortheUnitedStatestodestroyNagasakiwiththeworld’ssecondatomicbomb,butittookfiftyyearsforYamahata’spicturesoftheeventtomakethejourneybackfromNagasakitotheUnitedStates.Theywereshownforthefirsttimeinthiscountryin1995,attheInternationalCenterforPhotographyinNewYork.Arrivingahalf-centurylate,theyarestillnews.Thephotographsdisplaythefateofasinglecity,buttheirmeaningisuniversal,since,inourageofnucleararms,whathappenedtoNagasakican,inaflash,happentoanycityintheworld.Inthephotographs,Nagasakicomesintoitsown.NagasakihasalwaysbeenintheshadowofHiroshima,asifthehumanimaginationhadstumbledtoexhaustioninthewreckageofthefirstruinedcitywithoutreachingeventheoutskirtsofthesecond.YetthebombingofNagasakiisincertainrespectsthefittersymbolofthenucleardangerthatstillhangsoverus.Itisproofthat,havingonceusednuclearweapons,wecanusethemagain.Itintroducestheideaofaseries－theseriesthat,withtensofthousandsofnuclearweaponsremaininginexistence,continuestothreateneveryone.(Theunpredictable,open-endedcharacteroftheseriesissuggestedbythefactthatthesecondbomboriginallywastobedroppedonthecityofKokura,whichwassparedNagasaki’sfateonlybecausebadweatherprotecteditfromview.)Eachpicturethereforeseemednotsomuchanimageofsomethingthathappenedahalf-centuryagoasawindowcutintothewallofthephotographycentershowingwhatsooncouldeasilyhappentoNewYork.Wherevertheexhibitmighttravel,moreover,theviewofthreatenedfuturefromthese“windows”wouldberoughlyaccurate,since,althougheveryintactcityisdifferentfromeveryother,allcitiesthatsuffernucleardestructionwilllookmuchthesame.3.Yamahata’spicturesaffordaglimpseoftheendoftheworld.Yetinourday,whenthechallengeisnotjusttoapprehendthenuclearperilbuttoseizeaGod-givenopportunitytodispelitonceandforall,weseemtoneed,inaddition,someotherpicturetocounterpoiseagainstruinedNagasaki－oneshowingnotwhatwewouldlosethroughourfailurebutwhatwewouldgainbyoursuccess.Whatmightthatpicturebe,though?Howdoyoushowtheoppositeoftheendoftheworld?ShoulditbeNagasaki,intactandalive,beforethebombwasdropped－orperhapsthesparedcityofKokura?Shoulditbeachild,oramotherandchild,orperhapstheEarthitself?Noneseemsadequate,forhowcanwegiveadefiniteformtothatwhichcanassumeinfiniteforms,namely,thelivesofallhumanbeings,nowandinthefuture?Imagination,facedwitheithertheendoftheworldoritscontinuation,mustremainincomplete.Onlyactioncansatisfy.4.Once,thearrivalintheworldofnewgenerationstookcareofitself.Now,theycancomeintoexistenceonlyif,throughanactoffaithandcollectivewill,weensuretheirrighttoexist.Performingthatactisthegreatestoftheresponsibilitiesofthegenerationsnowalive.Thegiftoftimeisthegiftoflife,forever,ifweknowhowtoreceiveit.望远山乔纳森·谢尔11945年8月9日，一颗原子弹投向长崎。当天，在日军中服役的摄影师山端庸介被派遣到这座已遭毁灭的城市。他第二天拍摄的百来张照片可谓现存最完整的核毁灭威力的影像记录。此前3天也遭遇毁灭的广岛在轰炸的第一天基本没被相机拍摄下来。山端碰巧有条不紊地用伟大而简洁的艺术手法记录下了核武器爆炸后仅仅数小时对人类的影响。山端的部分照片展示了被核火球以其独特的方式烧焦了的尸体。他们是被光烧焦的——用专业术语来说，他们是被“热脉冲”烧焦的——尸体通常都烙上了衣服的图案，因为不同的颜色吸光程度不同。一张照片拍下了一匹身形扭曲的马儿蜷缩在它拉的大车下面。另一张显示了一堆悬挂在突出物上面伸进沟渠的东西，看得出这也是一个人的遗骸。第3张照片中有个小女孩站在防空洞入口处，不知何故她虽经历劫难却毫发无伤。她脸上露出诡异的笑容，令人震撼。如果不是这张照片，在我们现在见证的场景中，原先的日常生活已一去不返。大片茫茫的废墟瓦砾一直伸向远方，残火零落其间，而这片景象的背景则是绵延的大山。我们能遥望远山，正因为整个城市已化为焦土。城市的灰飞烟灭比断壁残垣更能说明问题的核心本质。这一事件的真正效应不在于城市还剩下什么，而在于消失的一切。2美国使用世界上第2颗原子弹将长崎夷为平地仅仅用了几秒钟，然而，山端拍摄这一事件的照片从长崎辗转回到美国却用了50年之久。照片第一次在美国展出是在1995年，展出地点是纽约国际摄影中心。迟到了半个世纪，这些照片仍然带有新闻效应。这些照片展示的是单个城市的命运，但却带有普遍意义，因为在我们这个核武器时代，发生在长崎身上的灾难也可能在转瞬之间发生在世界任何一个城市身上。通过这些照片，长崎为自己正名。它一直存在于广岛的阴影中，因为似乎人类的想象力到达广岛这第一个被毁灭的城市的废墟之后便裹足不前、消失殆尽了，以至于连长崎的边缘都到达不了。然而，长崎的灭顶之灾在某些方面恰恰是笼罩在我们头顶上的核威胁阴云的更有力的象征。它证明人类一旦大开核武器杀戒，就会重蹈覆辙。它带来了系列破坏的概念，就是说，有成千上万的核武器持续存在，我们每个人都有可能受到威胁。(第2颗原子弹原定是投向小仓的，只是后来因为天气恶劣，空中视线不佳，这才