MedTech + Art

          This week's shift to medicine, technology, and art has reinforced just how these disciplines do really influence each other in several ways. According to Professor Vesna in her lecture video "Human Body and Medical Technologies Part I," human dissection can be understood truly at the intersection of art and science (Human Body and Medical Technologies Part I). Professor Vesna goes on by helping us understand how human dissection emerged and its relative importance for artists (Human Body and Medical Technologies Part I). Shifting our focus back to the era of the Renaissance, artists would examine the human body by dissecting cadavers in order to represent it correctly (Human Body and Medical Technologies Part I). These artists would also work closely with doctors and researchers who would help with illustrating the human body, which was integral for its documentation in academic books that we use and benefit from in the present-day.

https://www.codexanatomy.com/collections/

full-body-anatomy-posters

          Moreover, advancements in technology have given rise to new methods of representing the anatomy of the human body. Such methods include x-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, and plastic surgery. As Silvia Casini argues in "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts," MRI's have the same 'look' that portraits have (Casini 73). Hence, Casini states that MRI's have the "capacity of being performative" and are "acoustic more than visual" (Casini 73). 

https://www.sciencephotogallery.com/human-body/

coloured-mri-scan-human-head-side-view-1114057.html

          Furthermore, the idea of plastic surgery is commonly assumed to be a recent technological development. However, I found it very interesting to understand how plastic surgery actually evolved 4,000 years ago and became especially prominent after wars. For example, with the introduction of chemicals in WWI, physicians had to treat many returning soldiers' injuries, ranging from shattered jaws to blown off noses (Human Body and Medical Technologies Part III). Hence, I strongly believe that this advancement in medicine was very much needed for helping people with more serious injuries, as opposed to what the Hippocratic Oath says that doctors should refrain from ever using the knife, that is, performing plastic surgery. However, many individuals today are taking plastic surgery to the extremes and, as a result, are becoming unrecognizable and devaluing the notion of natural beauty. For example, Professor Vesna states in her lecture video "Human Body and Medical Technologies Part III" that a woman by the name of Orlan underwent several themed surgical procedures in the 90s, which were videotaped, to bring attention to what it means to be beautiful (Human Body and Medical Technologies Part III). According to Professor Vesna, Orlan picked specific characters from renowned paintings that represented beauty to replicate for her surgeries, such as the Mona Lisa (Human Body and Medical Technologies Part III). Therefore, the answer to this ongoing debate on whether cosmetic surgery is a good or bad thing will vary depending on who you ask. 

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/court-

rejects-orlans-attempt-to-sue-lady-gaga/

References

Vesna, Victoria. "Human Body and Medical Technologies Part I." YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk.

Vesna, Victoria. "Human Body and Medical Technologies Part II." YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=psjnQarHOqQ.

Vesna, Victoria. "Human Body and Medical Technologies Part III." YouTube, 22 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=FIX-9mXd3Y4.

Casini, Silvia. "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts." Configurations, vol. 19, no. 1, Winter 2011, pp. 73-99. Project Muse, DOI: 10.1353/con.2011.0008. 

Orlan. "Carnal Art (2001) Documentary." YouTube, 13 Mar. 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1059&v=no_66MGu0Oo.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS.Org, March 26, 2001. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hippocratic-oath-today/.