Weel 4 - Medicine + Technology + Art

Week 4 - Medicine + Technology + Art

I never thought about medicine and technology as being art before, however, after studying the material this week, I realize that medical practitioners are actually artists.  They are constantly studying and staying ahead of the latest trends and innovations in their particular speciality.  Plastic surgeons are artists and their work involves beautifying people on the outside.  Other types of surgeons perform their craft on the inside of bodies and while their work cannot be seen from the outside, a patient can benefit from their work on the inside.  
In Orlan’s documentary, she creates “carnal art” by undergoing several plastic surgeries on her own body to demonstrate her beauty.  While I understand this is a form of art, I was quite uncomfortable watching the film because it pushed the boundaries of art.
Too much plastic surgery can lead to too much transformation  
Another example of medicine and technology merging with art is when Diane Gromala discusses virtual reality as an effective short-term solution to her chronic pain.  She states that this form of technology is just as effective as using opioids.  I had no idea that virtual reality technology is an art that can provide comfort to someone suffering from chronic pain.
Diane Gromala uses virtual reality to alleviate her chronic pain
I used to be afraid of going to the doctor when I was young but as I’ve grown up, I am not nearly as scared as I used to be.  As an athlete, I have had plenty of encounters with doctors and medical technology.  I have had X-rays, MRIs, and casts put on for various injuries caused by falls and overuse.  I also suffer from allergies and have had CT-scans on my sinuses. I will be having my wisdom teeth taken out later this year.  My oral surgeon was able to show me a panoramic X-ray precisely where my impacted teeth are positioned and how those teeth are creating crowding issues with the rest of my teeth.
Panoramic dental X-ray


Sources
Culturebase.net. "A Unique Online Source on Contemporary International Artists." Zoran
Todorovic Artist Portrait. Culture Base.net, 14 May 2003. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.
Gromala, Diane.  TED Talks.  “TED AmericanRiviera – Diane Gromala – Curative
Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty.”  You Tube.  YouTbe, 07 Dec. 2011.  Web. 29 Apr.
2017.
MutleeIsTheAntiGod. "Orlan - Carnal Art (2001) Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, 13
Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.
Vesna, Victoria.  “Lecture Parts 1 – 3.  Human Bodies and Medical Technologies.”
Medicine + Technology + Art.  30 April 2017.  Lecture.

Warwick, Kevin.  "Body Embedded Chips." Kevin Warwick. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ben Goldberg Week 1 Blog Discussion B

Image
Week 1:  Two Cultures As a freshman and student-athlete at UCLA, I have experienced CP Snow’s concept about two cultures by simply attending class everyday on campus.  My science classes are in classrooms on South Campus while my arts and humanities classes are on North Campus.  In 1959, Snow created a “cultural controversy” (Vesna) and declared that literary intellectuals were separate from the natural sciences.  While I have never given any thought to this notion prior to this week, I can appreciate why he felt that way.  I believe the UCLA campus was originally almost 100 years ago separating its arts and sciences buildings because it was universally understood and accepted that literary intellectuals did not need to connect with scientists and vice versa. I grew up surrounded by television, movies, advertisements, and an education system that taught me that scientists wore white lab coats and worked on secret projects while artists, writers, and musicians blended into societ
Read more

Week 8 - Nanotechnology + Art

Image
DESMA BLOG – WEEK 8 Nanotechnology + Art This week’s topic about nanotechnology helped to further convince me that science continues to play a key role in creating new forms of art.   Nanotechnology is about the manipulation of matter smaller than 100 nanometers, which is about the same size of a tennis ball in comparison to the earth.  This rapidly growing field took off in the early 1980s and has since been changing the way we approach science, consumer products, and how we treat cancer patients.  In 1981, a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) was developed to view three-dimensional images of samples at the atomic level.  The “age of the immaterial was truly inaugurated” (Gimzewski and Vesna).   In 1986, the first STM was produced for commercial purposes. There are a wide variety of products incorporating nanotechnology that are available to consumers.  Nanoparticles are one of the largest segments in the commercial marketplace today.  Everyday items such as socks an
Read more

Week 9 - Space + Art

Image
DESMA BLOG – WEEK 9 Space + Art Space and art have always been closely tied together and this week’s discussions continued to support this concept.  Specifically, nanotechnology, robotics, biotechnology, and math are all connected to the study of space.  Human beings have been curious about space and what lies “out there” and beyond the earth for thousands of years.  In the early 1500s, Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer, used math to create his theory of the sun being in the center of the universe while the earth spun around the sun each day.  This was hugely important in the overall understanding of our heliocentric solar system.  Telescopes were invented in the 1700s.  In 1996, telescopes and nanotechnology played a key role in space exploration when molecules were detected and led to the discovery of buckyballs in a crater (Vesna). Copernicus was an important figure in establishing the concept of a heliocentric solar system.   Pop culture has fueled the imaginati
Read more