Medicine + Technology + Art

Art meets Medicine
http://www.jeffreymlevinemd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Art_Medicine_Webinar1.jpg

This week's topic featured an in-depth look into the symbiotic relationship between art and the medical field. I found it extremely interesting that art and medicine had this relationship that I would have never thought existed beforehand. It makes perfect sense that to a great artist would need to understand and learn about the human body to hone his talents, but it's something I never really considered.

Human Anatomy
http://www.yogamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Mountain-Pose-Anatomy-768x1024.jpg

Understanding the human anatomy is instrumental for artists in accurately representing humans in their work. From Vesalius's early anatomy, to Hagens' "Body World", and further to the development of X-rays, MRI machines, and CAT scans, technology in medicine has improved the depth and detail into which artists and medical professionals can look into and understand the human body. I found Hagen's "Body World" and the process of plastination to be extremely interesting and I loved how as a scientist he created such an artistic inspirational piece of work.

Extreme Body Modifications
http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim//2010/07/20/Subdermal_Implants_and_stretching.jpg

The real intersection of these two fields is in the advancements of body modifications. The image above is a very extreme example of the case, but body modifications gave artists the ability to express themselves physically in a revolutionary new way. Advancements in body modifications included things such as plastic surgery, prosthetics, prosthesis, and more. Learning about Orlan and how she creates her physical art was really inspirational for me. I immediately thought that she was trying to steal the beauty of the world, but instead she was choosing her modifications in a philosophical representation. Steven Hawking's ability to communicate and express himself due to machinery is an incredible technological miracle in of it's own.

"All is Full of Love"
http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images/bjork-love05.jpg

I'd like to end with Bjork's "All is Full of Love" music video. I remember seeing this video in the early 2000's and it meant nothing to me at the time. After this week's lesson I re-watched it and saw a completely new meaning in it. The video features robots sensually kissing and touching each other, which is a pretty normal in 2013, but what surprised me was the video being released in 1999. I thought that the video was a foreshadowing of the future and the robots expressing these human-like features suggested that in the future cybernetics will be a very strong part of a human's normal life. Maybe I'm drawing at straws here, but I thought it was a very innovative idea, and as the future showed cybernetics are a huge part of today's world.

References:
1. Levine, Jeffrey M. Art Medicine Webinar 1. Digital image. Jeffrey M Levine MD. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://www.jeffreymlevinemd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Art_Medicine_Webinar1.jpg>.
2. Mountain Pose Anatomy. Digital image. Yoga Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://www.yogamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Mountain-Pose-Anatomy-768x1024.jpg>.
3. Subdermal Implants and Stretching. Digital image. CBSI. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim//2010/07/20/Subdermal_Implants_and_stretching.jpg>.
4. Bjork Love 05. Digital image. Cyber Punk Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images/bjork-love05.jpg>.
5. "Who Is Orlan?" Who Is Orlan? N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://oldsite.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ecook/courses/eng114em/whoisorlan.htm>.