Week 4: MedTech + Art

The human body is a beautiful thing. Naturally created, its wonders and inner workings are not only beautiful by design, but are so complex, that we are still learning about it to this day. It is no surprise then that our own human bodies and even images of our bodies can be performative works of art. Artist Orlan has dedicated her life to art. But art in a way that she uses her body and what she does to her body as the main performance. She lets her body be a spectacle for others to stare, gawk, and make comments as she undergoes plastic surgery (Orlan). Even medical technological scans such as the MRI, is not strictly medical. Casini argues that MRI images contain the same artistic quality as portraits. They are both images of an individual and tell a story about that individual, although the MRI relies more on the comments and dialogue concerning the image. Our bodies themselves can be performative works of art.

Orlan and her work

This week's material instantly reminded me of a book I read recently, The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells. Written in 1896 and also adapted to film, the novel tells the story of a crazed scientist, Dr. Moreau, whose life work is to take animals and perform surgeries to make them human. He believes that the human form is the ultimate form, and that what he does to these animals is improvement not only for genetics but for aesthetics. Medical technology, in this case, vivisection, is a subject of artistic interest, incorporated into modern literature.

Cover Art for The Island of Doctor Moreau

Tensegrity

Now more than 100 years after this novel's publication, medical technology has come a long way, and the art surrounding medical technology has changed as well. Even the Hippocratic Oath, the fundamental document to medicine in the past and today is changing in practice. Our society and our medical practices have changed so much that even the most sacred document to medicine has changed. Ingber's work on tensegrity and its materialization in modern architecture is based on natural structures such as cell cytoskeletons. This field of art is only possible due to our recent knowledge of cell structure. Casini's work on MRI as art is only possible with new modern technology. As our medical technology continues to change, I am excited to see how art will change with it.

Sources:

Orlan-Carnal Art (2001) Documentary. YouTube. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=29&v=no_66MGu0Oo>.

Casini, Silvia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts. The Johns Hopkins University Press and the Society for Literature and Science. 2011, 19:73-99.

Ingber, Donald E., The Architecture of Life. Scientific American, p 48-57. January 1998.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>.

Wells, H. G. The Island of Dr. Moreau. Waiheke Island: Floating, 2008. Print.