Week 4 - Medicine + Technology + Art

This week, art, medicine, and technology were all connected. I have never really considered the many ways in which these three fields could all be meshed into one, but now it all seems very clear. Whether it is anatomy and dissection, the Body Worlds show, X-ray machines, or plastic surgery, future possibilities are endless when you bring art, medicine, and technology together.

            I thought it was very interesting when Professor Vesna brought up how plastic surgery is not a new procedure, and that it has been around for nearly 4,000 years. I thought plastic surgery was a procedure that began in the 20^th Century, so it surprised me that physicians in ancient India used skin graphs. Another surprising point was that WWI made plastic surgery necessary due to the new chemical and electrical weapons used in war. I know this war caused terrible injuries, but I never considered the treatments for injuries as plastic surgery. To me, injuries which require “fixing” are classified as necessary reconstruction, while I view plastic surgery as something that is pure choice by the client because they want to look a certain way even though there is no health related reason to get the surgery done.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zxw42hv

            Although I do not have personal experience with plastic surgery, since moving to Los Angeles I have seen many people who have clearly had this work done on them. I understand the insecurities people have with their bodies and looks, but people always look prettier as their natural selves. No matter how good the doctor, you can pretty much always tell if someone has gotten plastic surgery. My roommate watches the TV show Botched and is fascinated by it, but to me it is sad that so many people feel they need to change their appearance when they are already beautiful the way that they are. Plastic surgery is an art form because you actually mold a person as a painter would paint a picture or a sculptor would sculpt a sculpture. This is especially clear through Orlan, who done body performance art since the 70s. She wants to obtain the beauty created by renowned artists, so her facial features resemble a certain feature from different famous paintings, for example, she has Mona Lisa’s forehead. I do believe that this is an art form, but it is hard for me to accept that people dislike the way they look so much that they feel pressure to change.

http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/tvbanners/10819476/p10819476_b_v8_ah.jpg

https://art100.wikispaces.com/OrlanPresentation

Citations:

"Biography." Orlan. Orlan, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. <http://www.orlan.eu/bibliography/biography/>.

Donohoe, Martin, MD, FACP. "Women’s Health in Context: Cosmetic Surgery Past, Present, and Future: Scope, Ethics, and Policy." Medscape. WebMD LLC, 
       2006. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. <http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/542448_2>.

"How Do You Fix a Face That’s Been Blown off by Shrapnel?" BBC. BBC, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zxw42hv>.

Sarah, Sheldon, and R. Parihar. "Sushruta: The First Plastic Surgeon in 600 B.C." Internet Scientific Publications. Internet Scientific Publications, LLC, 2013. 
       Web. 23 Apr. 2016. <http://ispub.com/IJPS/4/2/8232>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4#action=share>.