Week 4: MedTech + Art

Art is deeply engrained within medicine. From its very beginnings, medicine was considered art and if you used tools or technology you were not really considered a doctor. In the beginning of the twentieth century, however, technology began to be incorporated into hospitals, starting with microscopes to ever more complex technologies.

Anatomy and dissection are really at the intersection of art and science. As far back as the Ancient Egyptians, people have been interested in understanding the human body in more depth. This desire to be able to see the human body from the inside gave rise to x-rays, MRIs, and CAT scans. The CAT scan, for example, records sections at different parts of the human body—like the visible human project but without actually cutting the body open.

A sample of The Visible Human Project. ("The Visible Human Project - Color Cryosections." U.S. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.)

The human body can also be said to serve as a basis for some types of art. Donald E. Ingber, for example, compares the human body to certain types of architectures structures and sculptures. He says that “the dynamic relation of these structural elements,” including our skeleton and cytoskeleton, are “reminiscent of a sculpture by Kenneth Snelson, in which long struts are joined with cables” (Ingber). Ingber explains how certain structures are stabilized in ways similar to how the human body is stabilized.

“Geodesic dome carries a given load with a minimum amount of building materials,” just like how our skeletal structure supports our weight and movements. (Ingber, Donald E. “The Architecture of Life.” Scientific American. N.p. January 1998: 48-57. Print.)

In my opinion, the clearest example of medicine and art is plastic surgery. Plastic surgery was initially intended for medical purposes. With all of the newly developed weapons for World War I, physicians suddenly had to treat facial and head injuries, so they came up with plastic surgery as a means for reconstruction. However, over time plastic surgery evolved into redesigning someone’s face so they can fit a certain standard of beauty. Orlan, a body performance artist, started a series of surgical performances that were live and videotaped in the 1990s. She drew attention to what it means to be beautiful, what it means to age, and how much you’re in control of how you look. Orlan wanted to embody the visions of beauty that a few famous artists had. She used her body as a canvas and medicine as a means of producing her artwork.



What plastic surgery was intended for versus how Orlan transformed it. ("Before and After Facial Reconstruction Surgery." Best Plastic Surgeon. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.) ("End Result." English 114EM: Women Writers, 1650-1760. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.)




References:

MutleeIsTheAntiGod. "Orlan - Carnal Art (2001) Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Uconlineprogram. "Medicine Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Uconlineprogram. "Medicine Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Uconlineprogram. "Medicine Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Ingber, Donald E. “The Architecture of Life.” Scientific American. N.p. January 1998: 48-57. Print.


Casini, Silvia. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations Between Science and Arts.” (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.

Comments

  1. Lexi Jasper-BaylinMay 1, 2017 at 10:14 AM

    Hi Nicole. It is crazy to think that doctors were not considered to be doctors at first if they used tools and technology, when now in present day most of their work is performed with tools and technology. With the technological advancements like x-rays, MRI's, and CAT scans, like you stated have allowed us to see inside the human body. It is a good thing we now have this technology to help continue in medical advancements and saving lives. Thank you for your insight on this week's topic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 4, 2017 at 1:02 PM

    I never really looked at plastic surgery as art until now. It is true how a surgeon is like an artist sculpting facial structures. Plastic surgery has evolved since world war II, and now it is primarily for enhancing features for "beauty". Great blog, keep it up!

    ReplyDelete

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