Jurassic Museum of Technology

The Museum of Jurassic Technology

 Art-72 

(5-01-15)

Abstract

The following is an introduction to the world of Albert G. Richards, a renowned photographer; inventor, dental educator, and artist. This brief editorial will cover Mr. Richards’ contributions to artistry, photography, dentistry and its X-ray technologies, i.e., the recessed cone dental x-ray machine. I have critiqued the exhibit presenting the radiographic art-works of Mr. Richards, which I observed at the Jurassic Museum of Technology on 1 May 2015.    

         “Radiographic Floral Exhibit”

By Albert G. Richards

Albert G. Richards

My decision in choosing the Museum of Jurassic Technology could not have been a better one in fulfilling my field trip assignment for Art 72 as I was pleasantly surprised to find the facility a visually delightful grouping of mazelike rooms and their exhibits. With poor eyesight it was perhaps, a little too dimly lighted. I had little knowledge of these art variations and their various mediums. One of the exhibits that I had an immediate attraction with, were the works of Albert G. Richards, who was instrumental in the pioneering of x-ray photography; more specifically, the recessed cone dental x-ray machine, which he used, in part, to create his floral radiographs.  For a bit f trivia, Professor Richards was the first non-dentist president of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. Mr. Richards is perhaps most famous for these floral radiographs, several of which hang in museums across the country. He has published a book with over 100 of his famed radiographs. One of his works was featured on the cover of the Smithsonian. Mr. Richards is still living at the ripe old age of 96! 

The Floral Radiographs of Albert G. Richards

Description:       

Mr. Richards’ radiographic floral art works appeared to radiate an inner light at their respective cores, which I found to be most unique, in that, I had never seen such a medium brought to fruition, with possibly the lone exclusion of one of the noble gases; to wit: neon¹ which radiates light via the electrical excitement of various atoms, i.e., Las Vegas’ night lights. Mr. Richards, using X-rays negatives from his invention, the recessed cone dental x-ray machine² in conjunction with photography to create his art, which is eerily akin to amebic-like- life-forms. Insomuch, as most of his flowers were done individually (a few exceptions; but, not many) and not in unison, i.e., as exhibited in the four photographs above. His construction methods for his art endeavors were; in deed, most original.  Albert’s  exposure (pun intended) at a very young age to photography though his father’s  expertise, who was an accomplished photographer, ultimately enabled him to make further advances in various processes in the fields of dentistry, art and photography. Mr. Richards’ first published his floral radiographs in 1962 in the National Geographic Society's School Bulletin.

His works were very self-explanatory regarding nature’s world of flora and somewhat soothing to the eye. They had a tranquil affect on me; both physically and mentally! The texture of all of the works that I observed had a more or less sort of ‘black-light’ demeanor to them, in that, their appearances was somewhat fuzzy and hazy, as well as distant. In regards to the colorations utilized by Mr. Richards, he reduced them to either a light blue or white hue (the ones that I viewed) with a glow-like-effect radiating from within, surreal; but, nevertheless, a most pleasant sight.

In regards to the lighting, which was the single most important ingredient in his ability to present this usual approach into creating radiographic art and I would venture to take it one step further and say that without its use (light) he would not have had a medium in machine, which he used, in part, to create his floral radiographs.  For a bit f trivia, Professor Richards was the first non-dentist president of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. Mr. Richards is perhaps most famous for these floral radiographs, several of which hang in museums across the country. He has published a book with over 100 of his famed radiographs. One of his works was featured on the cover of the Smithsonian. Mr. Richards is still living at the ripe old age of 96! 

 which to have created his art, i.e., photons/x-rays giving him the necessary tools needed. His art has both qualities of negative and positive spaces. With the latter used to visually bring his x-rays to life through photography. I am not sure exactly how he employed this technique incorporating the x-rays negatives into his finished works. I researched what information that was available on the Internet;however, I could not find the definitive procedure that Mr. Richards utilized.

 Evaluation

  

Regarding my thoughts before and after Mr. Richards’ exhibit, they were basically unchanged as I like them from the very beginning; in fact, I went through the exhibit twice. I personally thought that Mr. Richards more than conveyed his purpose in presenting his floral display in a most unique and usual way, i.e., X-rays. Mr. Richards took his thoughts and combined them with science & technology to facilitate an unusual art form. And in finality, I can honestly say that I have not spent a more enjoyable afternoon in a very long time. Thank you for the introduction, or rather the suggestion to the Jurassic Museum of Technology. In the future I am sure that I will return and takes someone who has never had the pleasure.  

I have presented to the best of my abilities, a limited critique of Mr. Richards’ art, i.e., the radiographic floral display. I am finding that with the passage of time I am getting more comfortable in my attempts to critique/describe what I am seeing, regarding most art objects in the various mediums that I have observed while taking this course.

End notes:

1     1. Neon is a chemical element with symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is in group 18 (noble gases) of the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton and xenon) in 1898 as one of the three residual rare inert elements remaining in dry air, after nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon dioxide are removed. Neon was the second of these three rare gases to be discovered, and was immediately recognized as a new element from its bright red emission spectrum. The name neon is derived from the Greek word νέον, neuter singular form of νέος [neos], meaning new.  

2.     Recessed Cone X-ray: Cone beam reconstruction uses a 2-dimensional approach for obtaining projection data. Instead of utilizing a single row of detectors, as fan beam methods do, a cone beam systems uses a standard charge-coupled device camera, focused on a scintillator material. The scintillator converts X-ray radiation to visible light, which is picked up by the camera and recorded. The method has enjoyed widespread implementation in microtomography, and is also used in several larger-scale systems. An X-ray source is positioned across from the detector, with the object being scanned in between. (This is essentially the same setup used for an ordinary X-ray fluoroscope).