Week Four | Medicine + Technology + Art
I was always fascinated by the relationship between mathematics and art, but never thought about the connection between art and medicine. I am amazed by how MRI pictures look like, since for me, they look both unreal and real at the same time. Casini's Magnetic Resonance Imaging as Mirror and Portrait influenced my understanding of this week's topic the most. In this essay, Casini argued that MRI was acoustic rather than visual. MRI's voice acted as a mirror to users. "Although vision is able to grasp form easily, it also
runs the risk of petrifying form in a representational image with the
same ease. Sound, conversely, pulls away form without dissolving
it, instead spreading it in space and time"(Casini 99). This really reminds me the form of expression in art. Thus I believe there are strong bonds between art and medicine.
Art forms can be ambiguous. For example, Orlan's body performances through plastic surgeries are hard to define. She thought it was a kind of art for better defining beauty and age. But I am not sure. Shall we hurt ourselves for the purpose of art? Can we hurt others for the purpose of art? But maybe some people do not think she was hurting herself. And as technology develops, body modification will become easier and more common in the future. People may regard changing our bodies as something normal, for seeking better appearance. The way we define beauty will change as well. Orlan claimed that she chose selected features from classical paintings of Diana, Mona Lisa, Psyche, Venus and Europa. And she said her choices were due to the story each character was related to, not just the beauty itself. Can that be an justifiable reason for her surgeries?
Talking about the progress of technology and the ethics of surgeries, we have to mention the Hippocratic Oath. It is used by physicians before surgeries to claim that they won't do harm in any form to patients. However, as I mentioned above, "hurt" will become harder and harder to define. Is plastic surgery a kind of hurt? But it is for our beauty. Is implanting chip a kind of hurt? But it is for our convenience. And, most importantly, they are the prevailing trend.
Reference:
Casini, Silvia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts. PDF. Web.
Orlan – Carnal Art (2001) Documentary. Dir. Stéphan Oriach. Perf. Orlan. N.d. Film. YouTube. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=no_66MGu0Oo
Tyson, Peter. “The Hippocratic Oath Today.” PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 29 Apr. 2017 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep0M2bOM9Tk.” Lecture. Medicine pt1 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 April. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/psjnQarHOqQ.” Lecture. Medicine pt2 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 April. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 April. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.
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| MRI Picture (Pinterest) |
Art forms can be ambiguous. For example, Orlan's body performances through plastic surgeries are hard to define. She thought it was a kind of art for better defining beauty and age. But I am not sure. Shall we hurt ourselves for the purpose of art? Can we hurt others for the purpose of art? But maybe some people do not think she was hurting herself. And as technology develops, body modification will become easier and more common in the future. People may regard changing our bodies as something normal, for seeking better appearance. The way we define beauty will change as well. Orlan claimed that she chose selected features from classical paintings of Diana, Mona Lisa, Psyche, Venus and Europa. And she said her choices were due to the story each character was related to, not just the beauty itself. Can that be an justifiable reason for her surgeries?
 |
| Orlan and Different Parts of Her Face (english.ucsb.edu) |
Talking about the progress of technology and the ethics of surgeries, we have to mention the Hippocratic Oath. It is used by physicians before surgeries to claim that they won't do harm in any form to patients. However, as I mentioned above, "hurt" will become harder and harder to define. Is plastic surgery a kind of hurt? But it is for our beauty. Is implanting chip a kind of hurt? But it is for our convenience. And, most importantly, they are the prevailing trend.
 |
| Embeddable Chips on the Market (CNN) |
Reference:
Casini, Silvia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts. PDF. Web.
Orlan – Carnal Art (2001) Documentary. Dir. Stéphan Oriach. Perf. Orlan. N.d. Film. YouTube. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=no_66MGu0Oo
Tyson, Peter. “The Hippocratic Oath Today.” PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 29 Apr. 2017 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep0M2bOM9Tk.” Lecture. Medicine pt1 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 April. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/psjnQarHOqQ.” Lecture. Medicine pt2 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 April. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 April. 2017. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.
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