X-radiograph(s) of "Sea Captains Carousing" 

Curator: This is an X-radiograph of "Sea Captains Carousing," a work attributed to John Greenwood, held in the Harvard Art Museums. Quite a contrast to the jovial scene the title suggests, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely. My first impression is this unsettling ghost of a painting. The darkness punctuated by those indistinct light areas creates such a strange feeling. Curator: Exactly. Radiography allows us to see beneath the surface, revealing the painting's structure and any hidden layers or alterations. It provides crucial insight into the artist's process and the painting's history. Editor: And perhaps it reveals more than the artist intended. The carousing sea captains, presumably all white men, what kind of colonial power dynamics are lurking beneath the surface? What stories are silenced by this image? Curator: Good questions. The imagery available to the public constructs meaning, but imaging technologies used behind the scenes expose institutional decision-making and social power structures. Editor: Indeed. It gives me a lot to consider about the layers of visibility, in art and beyond. Curator: Precisely. It makes me think differently about the power of art and its institutional context.