This week’s materials covered the rise of medical technologies and art, and the relationship to the unique allure of the human body. I was especially intrigued by the development of understanding human anatomy through medical experimentation from the information provided in this week's lecture.The fascination and beauty found within the human body has been observed and explored for hundreds of years and is still very much prevalent in many ways today.
During the renaissance period, highly respected artists were commissioned to perform detailed dissections while sketching their discoveries, ultimately contributing to some of the most intricate and nuanced work in the medical field at the time. The ability to accurately and artistically depict the inside of the human body publicly transformed the way society viewed and thought of our own bodies, while also showcasing its natural beauty and need for further study.
DaVinci Illustration of cadaver Illustration, courtesy of pbs.org
Later, in the mid 19th century, the introduction of Gray’s Anatomy became wildly popular outside of its intended medical audience as artists became drawn to this book for its intriguing and beautiful illustrations detailing the human body. Having a wildly available and accepting book on anatomy further shifted the perception of the body and encouraged people from all backgrounds to consider the art within ourselves.
Eventually, we come to see artists such as ORLAN, whose work challenges the intersection of medicine and artwork as she physically alters her body through plastic surgery to attain classically desirable features. ORLAN’s work has molded together the ancient fascinations to the human body with more contemporary technologies that allow for modification to our outward appearance.
ORLAN undergoing medical alternations in front of a live audience, courtesy of Lecture part 3
And more recently, with technology advancing at a rate faster than ever before, we are observing artists continue to push what the human body is capable of through medical additions. Artists such as STELARC and Edwardo Kac have experimented with medical technologies that allow for human body additions to increase our ability to interact with the world and technology all around us.
Image of STELARC and his Third Arm attached, courtesy of stelarc.org
The transition from first documenting human anatomy to eventual experimentation and technological addition can seem like a big leap forward in terms of our ability to implement these technologies into society. However, when studying some of these medical artists through time, many of these once experimental technologies and procedures have now become standard medical procedures, including microchipping, plastic surgery, and electronic additions. All of these works challenged the intersection of where medicine and art collide, furthering the need to understand the human body while also validating the work still to be done by artists within this field.
Sources:
Casini, Silvia. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts.” Configurations, vol. 19, no. 1, 2011, pp. 73–99. PubMed, https://doi.org/10.1353/con.2011.0008.
Hogan, Corinne. “Gray’s Anatomy Descriptive and Applied: The Greatest Account of Anatomical Understanding Available.” Royal College of Surgeons, 17 Aug. 2018, https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/grays-anatomy-descriptive-and-applied/.
Jones, Roger. “Leonardo Da Vinci: Anatomist.” The British Journal of General Practice, vol. 62, no. 599, June 2012, p. 319. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp12X649241.
Mason, Luke R. “Cyborg Experiments w/ Prof. Kevin Warwick.” FUTURES Podcast, https://futurespodcast.net/episodes/01-kevinwarwick. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.
“Orlan.” Orlan, https://www.orlan.net/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.
Riley, Shantal. Anatomy Professor Uses 500-Year-Old Da Vinci Drawings to Guide Cadaver Dissection. 12 Nov. 2019, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/leonardo-da-vinci-anatomy-dissection/.
The Hippocratic Oath Today. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hippocratic-oath-today/. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.
Vesna, Victoria. "Lecture: Human Body & Medical Technologies." DESMA 9, 20 April 2022, UCLA, Bruinlearn, Unit 4
The experimentation that you mention as exemplified by STELARC and the third arm is fascinating to think about and reminded me of the intersection of robotics and art as learned last week. You mention that such new procedures to medicine may become standard. With the pandemic, medical professionals, whether willingly or not, had to incorporate technology into daily practice as face-to-face interaction was limited. Telemedicine became more prevalent; according to Dr. Melissa Suran, by the end of 2020, telehealth visits to behavioral specialists were common as in-person visits. I wonder what your perspective is in regards to how such technology will soon be everyday practice and how this intersection between art and medicine and technology will keep evolving.
ReplyDeleteORLAN's work did challenges the boundaries of medicine and art! she uses cosmetic surgery to achieve conventionally attractive traits which allows her to express the art of medical technologies. ORLAN's art combines ancient fascinations with the human body with modern technology as express above. I loved reading your article and agree on the constant evolution under this topic
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