It is amazing to think that something as
concrete as medical technology is capable of being an assistant to creating art,
something so fluid. From this week’s lecture and resources, I learned that
using medical technology as a tool, one can take the human body as a canvas to
express oneself through art.
Art is usually either aesthetically pleasing or
it causes the audience to feel some sort of emotion. Technological advances
allows us to create and view art not only from the outside of the body, but
also the internal body. One way of using the human body for art is through
using MRIs. Marilene Oliver took MRIs and created 3D sculptures (Abbot, S17). Casini
talks about how MRI is seen as a portrait, which is why it can be considered
art because it does require photography (Casini, 88).
MRI Art
(http://www.marileneoliver.com/current_projects/currentprojects.html)
Although I can see using MRIs as a form of art,
plastic surgery crosses the boundary in my opinion. The objective of plastic
surgery used to be mainly for health benefits such as curing someone, but in
popular culture now, it is used for enhancing one’s beauty. To me, art should
be natural. Like Walter Benjamin states, “Even the most perfect reproduction of
a work of art is lacking in one element: its
Presence in time and space, its unique
existence at the place where it happens to be” (Benjamin, 1936). The reasons
for why people use plastic surgery is not an art form because they are
following and creating standards for people to follow. Art is about being
creative and different, not conformity. Orlan goes through several rounds of
plastic surgery to demonstrate how the male artist portrays female beauty. This
is so harmful and stressful on the body that, it does not seem like a form of
art. The more she works on her body, the more disfigured she appears. I also
found it very ironic because in an interview, she says, “my goal was to be
different”, but is she being different if she is taking the most notable body
parts of these female portraits and placing it on herself (Jeffries, 2009).
Plastic Surgery
(http://www.budapestbylocals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/plastic_sugery.jpg)
Orlan
(https://scarlettgoeswest.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/lost-in-narcissus-mirror/)
As far as medical technology and art going hand
and hand, I think there is a fine line that should not be crossed because it
can become dangerous when used in the wrong ways. Also, I find it debatable
whether some medical technologies really can be used to create art or not
because it defeats the technologies main purpose and as you work and alter a piece more and more, it holds less essence of art.
Works Cited
Abbott, Wynn. "Feature: Medical Interventions—visual
Art Meets Medical Technology." The Lancet 368 (2006): S17-18. Web.
Bejamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction.” 1936. Web.
Casini, Silvia. "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as
Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts."
Configurations: 73-99. Web.
Jeffries, Stuart. "Orlan's Art of Sex and
Surgery." The Guardian. The Guardian, 1 July 2009. Web.
"Orlan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web.
UConlineprogram. “Medicine pt1-pt3.” Youtube. Youtube, 21 April 2012. Web.