THE PROJECT
Artist and medical student Satre Stuelke founded the Radiology Art project to explore the hidden contents and structures of everyday things. Dedicated to the deeper visualization of various objects that hold unique cultural importance in contemporary society, this project intends to plant a seed of scientific creativity in the minds of all those inclined to participate.

THE ARTIST
Satre Stuelke lives and works in New York City. He has shown his work across the globe in numerous gallery and museum exhibitions and has also sold work through Sotheby's ArtLink. He has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has taught at many prestigious institutions including the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Satre is in his fourth year of medical school at Weill Cornell Medical College. After receiving his MD degree in 2010, he plans to specialize in... what else? Radiology.

THE ART
Convenience/Fast foods, consumer electronics, and toys are placed in a CT scanner and bombarded with image-generating radiation to analyze the structure of objects that people form strong personal connections to so we can discover something inherent in them that persuades us to form those connections. Surprising details often arise. Take the barbie doll — she has leg bones, joints, and even a skull, just like you and me. Thus bringing what some have called an unnatural form — closer to us.

Sometimes we find structures more distant. Most people will tell you they love their cell phone. What maintains this emotional connection? How is the love reinforced? When we scan the cell phone we only find a little box filled with silicon chips, components, and a battery. Certainly not capable of reciprocation.

In all these images, the overpowering presence of Medicine is undeniable. Using radiation to "photograph" things which we have connection to, even affection for, is compelling and gorgeous on the one hand, and alarming on the other. Is the Big Mac still safe to eat? Does the iPhone still work? These kinds of questions come from our knowledge that x-rays are harmful to our bodies. Can they also be harmful to our cherished objects? What does it mean to personally and viscerally identify with these things? Is that a pathology of contemporary society?

Also, it's just plain funny to put things like this into a million-dollar "camera" to see what will happen, and the results are gorgeous.

THE SCIENCE
Stuelke acquires the images on an older four-slice CT scanner that is used for research. Most scan parameters include a 120kV tube voltage, 100mA current, 0.625mm slice thickness and interval, 1:1 pitch, 1.25mm beam collimation, and a speed of 1.25mm/rotation. The resulting DICOM images are then processed in Osirix software on a Macintosh iMac computer. Colors are assigned based on the varying densities of materials present throughout the object to allow for optimal viewing of both inner and outer structures. Depending on the spread of densities within a particular subject, black or white backgrounds are chosen. Images are further processed in Adobe Photoshop for proper contrast and balance.

THE LOGO
Radiology technicians often have lead templates that they place on a film just before it's exposed to x-rays. An "R" means "this is the right side of the patient", an "L" means "this is the left side of the patient". Sometimes the initials of the technician are included below the "R" or the "L". Also, sometimes there is a little circle with three little balls in it so the radiologist can tell which end was up. The balls will drop according to gravity. If the patient was laying parallel to the earth, the balls will stay in the middle of the circle without being forced to the edge. Of course, sometimes if the technician isn't very careful, the letter can be placed on the film backwards. The letters may appear blurry as well if they aren't very close to the film during exposure.

Note the interesting latent image effect when you move your cursor in and out of the Radiologyart logo in the navigation bar on each page. This is a sort of a "fade" effect controlled by your retina as the logo changes from pure white to black and back again.

GET YOUR OWN PRINTS
High resolution prints are available of all images imaged by Satre Stuelke as noted. Please email for information.