Week 4 | MedTech + Art
This week, the lecture introduced the connection between art and medicine and how they affect one another. It is surprising to me that I have never thought about the connection between these two topics. While the understanding of human anatomy helped physicians to find more ways to cure diseases, it also promoted the understanding of human body itself for artists, allowing them to represent the human form in a more natural way.
Leonardo da Vinci, as an example, was trained in anatomy and his artwork was also greatly influenced by these experiences. His anatomical knowledge can be seen in the representations of skeletal structures, muscles and organs of humans that he dissected. The artwork, Anatomical study of the arm, is an example. This related to the lecture material where Prof. Vesna discussed her own experience regarding sketching the human skeletons which she found beneficial later on.
Surgery is another topic mentioned in the lecture where medicine and art intersect. Nowadays, surgeries are not just simply treatment operations but can also resemble art, especially after the development of multimedia. Medicine is a popular topic in TV dramas and reality shows, with examples such as Grey’s Anatomy, House M.D., General Hospital, and Boston Med. For reality shows that capture real-life situations in the hospital, most of the scenes are captured in the operating room as surgeries are the most representative and captivating part. Moreover, other artists utilize surgery to portray their understanding of art such as the example of Orlan.
Throughout history, art and medicine were connected due to the same demands of understanding of the human body. Today, because of the development of technology, the intersections between medicine and art are expanding, which allows the artists to represent themselves through medical technology, such as the plastic surgery, neural chips and prosthetics.
Reuteler, David. The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. Web. 01 May 2017. http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org
Vesna, Victoria. DESMA 9 Lecture Notes, Lecture 2. University of California, Los Angeles, Apr. 2017, https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/684222/pages/unit-2-view?module_item_id=11226140. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017.
Huff, Richard. "'Boston Med' shows painful reality of surgery." NY Daily News. 01 June 2010. Web. 01 May 2017.
Cook, Elizabeth Heckendorn. "English 114EM: Women Writers, 1650-1760." Who is Orlan? Web. 01 May 2017. http://oldsite.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ecook/courses/eng114em/whoisorlan.htm
Orlan. "Artist Orlan." Artiste transmédia et féministe. Météorite narratif du BIO ART. Son oeuvre questionne le statut du CORPS dans la société. Ses sculptures, HYBRIDATIONS et autoportraits réinterprètent le rôle des nouvelles technologies. Web. 01 May 2017. <http://www.orlan.eu/>.
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| Anatomical study of the arm, Leonardo da Vinci. An artwork that Leonardo da Vinci used his anatomy experiences (Reuteler) |
Leonardo da Vinci, as an example, was trained in anatomy and his artwork was also greatly influenced by these experiences. His anatomical knowledge can be seen in the representations of skeletal structures, muscles and organs of humans that he dissected. The artwork, Anatomical study of the arm, is an example. This related to the lecture material where Prof. Vesna discussed her own experience regarding sketching the human skeletons which she found beneficial later on.
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| A Screenshot from Boston Med, a series of medical reality show from ABC. (Huff) |
Surgery is another topic mentioned in the lecture where medicine and art intersect. Nowadays, surgeries are not just simply treatment operations but can also resemble art, especially after the development of multimedia. Medicine is a popular topic in TV dramas and reality shows, with examples such as Grey’s Anatomy, House M.D., General Hospital, and Boston Med. For reality shows that capture real-life situations in the hospital, most of the scenes are captured in the operating room as surgeries are the most representative and captivating part. Moreover, other artists utilize surgery to portray their understanding of art such as the example of Orlan.
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| An photo taken for Orlan during her surgery as an artwork (Cook) |
Throughout history, art and medicine were connected due to the same demands of understanding of the human body. Today, because of the development of technology, the intersections between medicine and art are expanding, which allows the artists to represent themselves through medical technology, such as the plastic surgery, neural chips and prosthetics.
Reuteler, David. The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. Web. 01 May 2017. http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org
Vesna, Victoria. DESMA 9 Lecture Notes, Lecture 2. University of California, Los Angeles, Apr. 2017, https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/684222/pages/unit-2-view?module_item_id=11226140. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017.
Huff, Richard. "'Boston Med' shows painful reality of surgery." NY Daily News. 01 June 2010. Web. 01 May 2017.
Cook, Elizabeth Heckendorn. "English 114EM: Women Writers, 1650-1760." Who is Orlan? Web. 01 May 2017. http://oldsite.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ecook/courses/eng114em/whoisorlan.htm
Orlan. "Artist Orlan." Artiste transmédia et féministe. Météorite narratif du BIO ART. Son oeuvre questionne le statut du CORPS dans la société. Ses sculptures, HYBRIDATIONS et autoportraits réinterprètent le rôle des nouvelles technologies. Web. 01 May 2017. <http://www.orlan.eu/>.
I agree with your idea that the intersections between art are expanding. It really refreshes my mind when professor Vesna introduced plastic surgery as art. In the past, I used to think that art is something performed on a paper, a wall, a stone such as a painting, a sculpture, which are lifeless. In fact, today's medical technologies are strongly related to art. For example. the X-ray, MRI, and CAT scan are all used to reveal human internal structure as art form.
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