At the turn of the 20th century, new scientific developments, like long-distance communication and the discovery of X-rays, were transforming society. Both Modern artists and emerging spiritual movements engaged with many of these scientific concepts. Spiritualist practices often seemed to follow technological advances that allowed communication over large distances. Mediums often reported hearing rapping after the invention of the telegraph in the 1830s, and then, following the invention of the telephone in the 1870s, began to more frequently claim to hear voices during their seances.

The discovery of X-rays served to “dematerialize” solid bodies and showed that solid matter could emit invisible energy. X-rays also played an important role in the increasingly detailed understanding of atomic structure.

In her notebooks, Hilma af Klint wrote: “... I am an atom in the universe that has access to infinite possibilities of development. These possibilities I want gradually to reveal…” During 1917–19, the artist devoted a series of watercolors to the clairvoyant study of the atomic structures of flowers and plants.

 

X-Ray: One of the first X-ray photographs made by Professor Konrad Roentgen in 1898
Image: Getty Images.Bettmann