X-RADIANCE: Art, Science, and Curatorial Vision in Williamsburg

Curated by Lita Tirak
February 10 – April 20, 2013
Exhibiting Artists: Jeff Behary, Diane Covert, Thomas B. Kinraide, Nick Veasey

In 2013, Matney Gallery presented X-RADIANCE, an exhibition that explored the visual language of X-rays, electrity and exposure through a curatorial lens grounded in American visual culture and interdisciplinary research. Organized by Lita Tirak during her doctoral work in American Studies at William & Mary, the exhibition brought together contemporary and historical artists exploring the visual legacy and aesthetic power of X-ray and high-voltage imagery. Across disciplines and decades, the artists in X-RADIANCE challenged viewers to consider how we visualize what lies beneath the surface—both literally and metaphorically. Through original spark photographs, radiographic lightboxes, industrial X-ray composites, and live demonstrations of early scientific techniques, the exhibition offered a rare opportunity to engage with the material, ethical, and emotional implications of “seeing through.”

Curatorial Framework: Seeing Through, Looking Back

Lita Tirak developed X-RADIANCE as part of her doctoral research, which culminated in her dissertation Radiant Exposure: The Art and Spectacle of the X-Rayed Body in American Visual Culture. Her work draws on American art history, medical humanities, and visual studies to explore how X-ray imagery—first developed in the late 19th century—has shaped how we view the human body, medical trauma, and technological vision. Tirak studied under art historian Allan C. Braddock, a leading voice in ecocritical art history and interdisciplinary curatorial practice. Braddock’s influence is evident in the exhibition’s structure: the show does not treat images as neutral data or mere spectacle, but as products of cultural frameworks, ideologies, and aesthetic traditions. Tirak’s curatorial essay asked viewers not only to examine the visual effects of X-rays and sparks, but to consider the ethical dimensions of these technologies—what it means to strip away skin, to expose inner structures, or to visualize violence in new and powerful ways. Importantly, X-RADIANCE treated the exhibition itself as a form of scholarly inquiry. It explored how exhibitions can extend dissertation research into public life, generating broader conversations that are accessible beyond academia while remaining rooted in intellectual rigor.

Artists and Techniques

The exhibition brought together four artists whose practices span more than a century of innovation across photography, science, and visual culture.

Jeff Behary, an electrical historian and experimental technician, revived the lost medium of spark photography—an image-making process using high-voltage discharges across photographic plates. In X-RADIANCE, he contributed contemporary spark prints made using Tesla coils, as well as facilitating the display of 19th-century originals by Thomas B. Kinraide—rare photographic plates that captured electric discharge patterns using a now-forgotten process. Behary’s work centers on the intersection of technology, craft, and historical preservation. He is the founder of the Electrotherapy Museum and is known for restoring and reconstructing antique electro-medical equipment with an artist’s sensibility and a scientist’s rigor. His spark images are produced not with a camera, but with energy itself—literal records of electricity arcing across surfaces. Behary’s installations and demonstrations recreate the sense of awe and danger that surrounded early scientific experiments, reminding viewers that visual spectacle and discovery were once inseparable. His inclusion in the show invited viewers to see historical technology not just as artifact, but as creative process.

Installation view of Diane Covert’s The X-Ray Project (foreground) and prints by Nick Veasey

Diane Covert, a documentary photographer, contributed a selection from The X-Ray Project, an installation of lightbox-mounted radiographs and CT scans depicting the internal injuries of terrorism victims. Her work, developed in collaboration with hospitals in Jerusalem, positioned medical imaging as a form of political testimony—revealing trauma not through photojournalism but through the clinical, impersonal, and deeply intimate lens of diagnostic imagery. Covert’s background in photojournalism and human rights advocacy shaped her approach to this project, which was widely exhibited in public institutions, museums, and educational settings. Her choice to work with medical scans underscores the tension between abstraction and identity—viewers do not see the faces of victims, only the lasting evidence of violence embedded within their bodies. The formal presentation of these images—backlit, translucent, and floating—mirrors their original clinical context but transforms them into memorials. Covert’s work calls attention to the hidden costs of conflict and asks what it means to witness pain when the body itself becomes the document.

X-ray print from an original negative created by Thomas B. Kinraide

Thomas B. Kinraide, a 19th-century inventor and early experimenter in radiographic and electrical imaging, created spark photographs by discharging electricity directly onto glass plates. Though originally intended for scientific study, the images exhibit abstract beauty—lightning-like branches and fractal forms frozen in time. Their inclusion in the exhibition positioned Kinraide not just as a historical footnote but as a key figure in the origins of scientific art. Based in Boston, Kinraide was a pioneering figure in high-frequency electrical experimentation and the development of early X-ray and induction coil technology. His spark images, rediscovered and brought to light in the 21st century, offer a rare visual record of Victorian-era innovation. By pairing Kinraide’s originals with Behary’s re-creations, X-RADIANCE bridged the past and present, emphasizing continuity in our fascination with the invisible. Kinraide’s work—delicate, dangerous, and largely unrecognized in his lifetime—became in this context a foundation for considering electricity as both medium and message.

Nick Veasey, the internationally recognized British photographer, contributed radiographic images of clothing, industrial objects, and human figures. Known for his high-resolution X-ray photography and large-scale composite images, Veasey uses X-ray equipment in custom-built lead-lined studios to create works that reveal internal structures often overlooked or discarded. His artistic practice explores society’s obsession with surfaces by making the internal beautiful, intricate, and strange. Veasey’s process involves the use of powerful industrial scanners and mannequins to safely capture the essence of form without direct exposure to living subjects. His work has appeared in museums, corporate spaces, and design exhibitions across Europe and North America. Veasey’s interest lies in both the technical execution and the philosophical implications of his art—what it means to see through, to dissect, to lay bare. In X-RADIANCE, his images added a clinical elegance to the show’s thematic arc, suggesting that even the most impersonal imaging processes can be reimagined as deeply expressive tools.

Public Support and Institutional Collaboration

X-RADIANCE was the first Matney Gallery exhibition funded through Kickstarter. With contributions from over 100 backers, the gallery raised nearly $5,000 to support shipping, fabrication, and installation costs. The public response affirmed a shared belief in the value of thoughtful, ambitious exhibitions that cross disciplinary lines. More than a funding source, the campaign became part of the exhibition’s ethos—demonstrating that Williamsburg could support research-driven, museum-quality curatorial work through grassroots collaboration. The exhibition also marked a pivotal point in Matney Gallery’s relationship with William & Mary. Through Tirak’s curatorial leadership, the gallery and university forged new pathways for scholarly exchange and experimental public programming. This partnership laid the groundwork for future exhibitions with faculty and student involvement, expanding the gallery’s role as a bridge between academic research and the broader cultural landscape.

Programs, Press, and Community Resonance

X-RADIANCE drew wide and diverse attendance—from university students and professors to collectors, artists, and local families. The gallery became a space of both learning and contemplation, animated by interpretive texts and educational programming.

On April 20, 2013, the gallery hosted a public conversation between artist Diane Covert and Dr. Daniel Cavazos, a local radiologist. Their dialogue explored the ways in which trauma, imaging, and interpretation intersect in both medical and artistic settings. That evening concluded with a candlelight vigil honoring the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Occurring just days after the attack, the vigil took on added significance. Surrounded by Covert’s glowing X-rays of wounded bodies, visitors reflected not only on art and science but on collective grief and resilience. The event transformed the gallery into a civic gathering space, reinforcing its role in the emotional and cultural life of the community. Following its run, X-RADIANCE was named one of the Top Five Art Exhibitions of 2013 by The Daily Press and was featured in Art World News, where it was recognized for its curatorial ambition and rare fusion of art and science. In 2017, the gallery hosted X-RADIANCE Revisited, a one-night event featuring a talk by Tirak and live spark demonstrations by Behary, reaffirming the exhibition’s resonance with both local and national audiences.

Legacy

More than a temporary installation, X-RADIANCE has become a touchstone for Matney Gallery—a model of how exhibitions can combine academic research, historical materials, and contemporary visual practices to reach across disciplines and into the lives of audiences. The exhibition advanced key curatorial themes that continue to inform the gallery’s work: the aesthetics of the unseen, the politics of visibility, the intersections of technology and narrative, and the human costs and possibilities of imaging. It also showed that serious curatorial work need not be confined to large institutions or major markets. Through collaboration, creativity, and a commitment to scholarship, X-RADIANCE proved that a regional gallery can produce exhibitions of national significance—connecting art with history, emotion with intellect, and the past with the present.