Drawing on the Dovetail Archive

By Ben DuVall

For the past several years, I’ve been working on a series of drawings based on a research project into nuclear disarmament movements, from the 1950s through the present. My fascination with these movements first began with the peace sign; first drawn by Gerald Holtom in 1958 for the UK Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), it superimposes the semaphore flag signaling positions for the letters N and D, and soon became symbolic of nuclear disarmament movements worldwide.

My research has delved into archives and personal collections of activists, looking for photos, ephemera and anecdotes that help explain the symbol’s rise from the rallying point for a specific cause, to the ubiquitous (and near meaningless) symbol of peace it is today. Along the way, my interest in these movements has expanded and now encompasses many related peace and human rights activities, with a particular emphasis on publications disseminated by groups at a grassroots level.

The US nuclear disarmament context varied from the UK in that there was less overarching national organization than in the UK, but a profusion of local groups which tended to assemble around weapon production and mobilization facilities, or nuclear power and waste facilities. So-called “Alliance” groups were (and are) the backbone of anti-nuclear organizing, such as the Clamshell Alliance in New Hampshire, the Snake River Alliance in Idaho, or the Shad Alliance in Long Island, NY. These, in collaboration with a vast network of activist groups around the country, became tireless advocates for disarmament and safe energy solutions, often lending each other support for actions, occupations, and marches.

I was invited to come to Des Moines as an artist in residence at the Alex Brown Foundation for May–June of 2023, and was excited to expand my research to the Midwest, a region which I so far hadn’t studied in much depth. I took as my starting point the 1986 Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament, one of the national movements that did, in fact, unite the many disparate local groups via a nationwide march from Los Angeles, CA to Washington D.C. The March passed through Des Moines in July of 1986, with the Iowa section organized by Ed Fallon and attended by many peace-concerned Iowans. The March itself had been somewhat of a disaster, the organization declaring bankruptcy before even leaving Los Angeles, but the marchers carried on, even though food, shelter and funding were constantly in short supply. The mutual aid aspect became a crucial unifying factor, and I was fortunate enough to meet several participants (including Fallon) who had fond memories of the March and incisive assessments of its efficacy, both politically and personally. In Des Moines, the march culminated with a rally at the state Capitol, which was reported by the Des Moines Register as being a well attended and energetic event.

The unexpected surprise of my Iowa-centric research was the deep roots that the peace movement had in the state, and the legacy of peace walks and marches that predated the 1986 Great Peace March. I came across three publications in particular that illuminated this history for me: Free Flowing, an underground newspaper published from 1974–79 out of Ames and Iowa City; Via Pacis, published by the Des Moines Catholic Worker from 1976–present, and of course, the Iowa Peace Network’s Dovetail newsletter. Each provided unique insight into the local culture of war resistance and mutual aid, especially in the closing decade of the Cold War. I made two drawings from the covers of Dovetail back issues, the first from Vol. VI, No. 3, Summer of 1982, which depicts an elderly couple holding a sign at a march, reading “IOWA: CORN IN OUR SILOS, NOT MISSILES,” and the second, a striking cover from Vol. X, No. 3, Summer of 1986, which depicts police engagement with protesters at the Nevada Test Site with  bold headline “following our conscience.”

                                Photo of DuVall's Drawing of Dovetail cover, Summer 1982 (DuVall)

The Dovetail archive proved such an incredible resource, and my time in Des Moines all too short to explore it in as much depth as I would like, but to be in communication with Christine Sheller and see that the work continues on was a tremendous encouragement. I would like to thank her, as well as Lucy Solarz and Steve Tyler at the Alex Brown Foundation, Ed Fallon, Dan Koenig, the Des Moines Catholic Worker, Gary Larsen of the Free Flowing archive, and the Des Moines Public Library for their generosity and support.

                            Photo of DuVall's Drawing of  Dovetail cover, Summer 1986 (Duvall)

 Ben DuVall is an artist and writer based in Brooklyn, New York. His work synthesizes historical and conceptual research through a variety of processes, alternately becoming drawings, oral histories, exhibitions, texts, billboards, websites, guided walks, radio broadcasts, books, or sculptural objects. He is a member of the exhibition-making collective Darling Green and host of The Condition of Music, a monthly radio broadcast on Seyðisfjörður Community Radio.