MA, Case-Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 1969
BA, Smith College, Northampton, MA, 1967
Using an X-ray machine, Judith McMillan photographs the complex but invisible internal structure of plants and insects to reveal the artistic inner beauty of nature. Allowing the viewer to witness and further understand seemingly simple everyday biological processes, she offers an imaginative interpretation of biology that proves science and art can occur simultaneously.
McMillan's work at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History led her to her recent artwork. With her X-ray machine, McMillan creates a photogram—a picture generated without a camera. To produce her photograms, she places her plant or insect material on the X-ray film to make the exposure and then uses a chemical process to create shifting tones and dimensional layers and textures. With her unique images, McMillan transforms the familiar into "a world of newly discovered pleasures."
