In History’s Shadow, David Maisel
uses a fresh medium of an x-ray as art to discuss themes of history. Not
originally Maisel’s photographs, he has re-photographed this work in order to
call it his own. Although the use of an x-ray is common in the work of art
historians, the use as an artwork creates a new perspective of the tool, the mundane
becomes innovative. Images such as GM3,
2010 show the detail orientation of the x-ray in which the inward shapes of
the horse can be seen forming together. Time as a theme and idea is evident in
that these images span over different time periods and are now apart of the
contemporary world. The combination of the photographs and the x-ray creates a
sense of space and depth due to the sharp contrast with only black and white
and no middle gray. Forming a new image through the x-ray includes GM2, 2010 and GM5, 2010 through the overlaying image of the front and back of the
head due to the transparency of the medium. “The x-ray has historically been
used for the structural examination of art and artifacts much as physicians
examine bones and internal organs; it reveals losses, replacements, methods of
construction, and internal trauma that may not be visible to the naked eye.” The
realism of the x-ray image allows for the images for instance GM21, 2010 of a hand to seem as if it
has veins and bones. Ultimately, this project makes the invisible, visible.
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