Week 4: MedTech + Art

One thing that I found attractive about this class so far is that it widens my vision of the relationship between art and various kinds of science. Frankly speaking, I would say that I could easily accept the connection of art and science such as math or robotics from last courses. However, it is somewhat hard for me to imagine a strong connection of medical science and art because in my mind medical science seems to be a frontier science providing health to life through the application of medicine or scientific curing method, but it is unrelated to artistic creation. The examples professor offers to us in her lecture video and the readings this week, however, rebuilt my cognition of the relation between them.

Medical Anatomy provides the artists with better (more clear and accurate, as well as aesthetic) ways to express

The introduction of historical anatomy, which step by step leads people to explore their own human body and innovates advanced technology such as CAT scan and MRI, inspires me about my personal experience with medical care. I begin to recall those high-tech medical treatments I had before and feel grateful for the effectiveness they brought to me. I remembered when I was in middle school, I had several injures of my phalanx (for both hand and foot). Once hit by the falling heavy object, my middle finger suffered a severe pain suddenly and I can saw its swelling and color turning dark after a while. Never suffering a fracture before, I did not know what happened to my finger and why it would be like that until I went to hospital and was checked by the CAT scan. As you will see from the photo of the scan, the result turns to be that the first of my phalanges prima suffered a fracture that breaks it into three pieces. Although I was a little bit shocked by the figure of my finger, I always consider it an interesting one because it was the fist time when I clearly know what was wrong with my body part through the high-tech medical check. Now when I recall this interesting, apparently, it is the medical technology that helps me satisfy my curiosity and better understand myself. Therefore, it seems not to be a coincidence now to relate medical science and art together because art, as people create it, works as a “self-exploration” and “self-expression” as one of its basic “non-motivated functions.” (wikipedia.org) “Along the same lines as the self-portrait, the idea of self-exploration is a very important part of any art therapy.” (arttherapyblog.com) Just as people do paintings because they want to know about themselves (no matter what their faces are like or what they minds are like) better, the process of medical development from anatomy to those great human projects is certainly the progress of self-exploration and expression. Silvia Casini compares the portrait meaning of both MRI and artistic works in his essay: “the analogy between MRI and portraits is apparent when considering that most works of art made with this technique are given the title of “Portrait” or “Self-Portrait” by the artists themselves.” (Casini 88)

The CAT Scan of my right hand after injury and three pieces fracture of my middle finger can be 

seen zoom in.

Another close communion I find of art and medical besides the self-exploration is the pursuit of self-improvement, or more generally, making change in both fields. As Orlan says in an interview, “Surgery is not my job. I have been the first artist to use aesthetic surgery in another context—not to appear younger or better according to the designated pattern. I wanted to disrupt the standards of beauty," ( Frank) Orlan questions the standards of beauty and raises the argument that “beauty is the product of the dominant ideology. Thus when ideology changes, the ideal body follows”  (Frank) through the nowadays-popular medical way—plastic surgery. Actually, people who take the plastic surgery, mostly want to improve their beauty, nobody taking it as a job. Orlan’s art, by her body media, works as their “public” way to challenge their “public” ideology. "This idea was also to bring differences and that's the acceptance of differences." (Jeffries) Therefore, it is safe to say that the plastic surgery is just the mixture of medical science and art, which fulfills people’s pursuit of change.

With the deeper understanding of the communication between art and medical science, I started to believe that with the development of medical science, these two fields would have more profound effect to each other.

Citation:

"Purpose of Art." Wikipedia. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art#Purpose_of_art>.

"Self-Exploration – Exploring Yourself Through Art Therapy." Art Therapy. Web. <http://www.arttherapyblog.com/art-therapy-ideas/self-exploration/#.VTdP12RViko>.

Casini, Silvia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts. Print.

Frank, Priscilla. "ORLAN Talks Plastic Surgery, Beauty Standards And Giving Her Fat To Madonna (PHOTOS, INTERVIEW, NSFW)." Huffpost Arts& Culture. 29 Jan. 2013. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/performance-artist-orlan-interview-beauty-surgery_n_2526077.html>.

Jeffries, Stuart. "Orlan's Art of Sex and Surgery." Theguardian. Web. <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/jul/01/orlan-performance-artist-carnal-art>.