California Stories
English Label
Dain L. Tasker, United States, 1872-1962
Monstera Blossom – An X-ray, c. 1930
Gelatin silver print
Dr. Tasker was an osteopath and president of the California State Board of Medical Examiners. He was a serious amateur photographer, beginning around 1915, and he was a close friend of Will Connell, who assisted Tasker in producing a remarkable series of flowers photographs using Tasker’s medical X-ray equipment. These were very difficult to print, as the X-ray negatives had characteristics unlike those of a typical photographic negative.
Tasker’s prints were widely reproduced in period literature, including US Camera (he wrote an article, “X-Raying Flowers” in 1939) and Popular Photography. They were exhibited as art in such exhibitions as the International Salon of Photography in Los Angeles in 1931.
Spanish Label
Dain L. Tasker, Estados Unidos, 1872-1962
Monstera Blossom – An X-ray [Monstera Blossom – Un Rayo-X], c. 1930
Impreso en gelatina de plata
Dr. Tasker era osteópata y presidente del California State Board of Medical Examiners [Consejo Estatal de California de Examinadores Médicos]. Tasker era un fotógrafo aficionado serio, comenzando alrededor de 1915, y fue amigo cercano de Will Connell, quien ayudó a Tasker a producir una extraordinaria serie de fotografías de flores usando equipo médico de rayos X. Estos fueron difíciles de imprimir ya que los negativos de los rayos X tienen características distintas a las del típico negativo de fotografía.
Los impresos de Tasker fueron ampliamente reproducidos en la literatura de la época, incluyendo US Camera (escribió un artículo, “X-Raying Flowers” [“haciendo rayos X de flores” en 1939) y Popular Photography. Fueron exhibidas como arte en exhibiciones como la International Salon of Photography [Salón Internacional de la Fotografía] en Los Ángeles en 1931.