Frieda Khalo depicts the combination of art and medicine in “Feeding Funnels.”
Humans have always held a fascination of the human body. From ancient burial rituals, to golden rings used for neck extension, to plastic surgery, we have are acutely aware of our physical body. In the 21st century, the explosion of medicine technology to explore the body as a means of scientific inquiry and as a blank canvas has lead to both advancements in the medicinal field and in art, proving that many of the techniques and ideas circulating the body are indeed interconnected.
Kayan women blend ideas of body and art through the use of elongating neck rings.
I found Professor Vesna’s discussion of the origins of plastic surgery particularly fascinating. Learning that plastic surgery had been an ancient tradition, and also a form of patient healing after war, made me realize that the intrigue with human beauty is longstanding and detailed. I was even more surprised to learn of artists whose medium of work was in fact their own body; I had never considered plastic surgery as a way to express creativity and artistry. I found Orlan a particularly interesting artist, because she chose to showcase her body art through public viewings of her surgeries, which took on a level of performance. I also found her choices for her surgeries interesting, as she chose to reconstruct body parts from different women of male-created classical paintings, effectively communicating the way in which we view female beauty.
It is quite evident that the fascination with art and the human body transfers to medicine and body science. Humans have always been fascinated by body manipulation, which is evident in historical and social cultural traditions spanning from the earliest days of recorded history to modern day society. as medical procedures advance, so does our ability to explore new artists forms and mediums. Much like areas of scientific and mathematical study, art is constantly changing and transforming through the invention of new technologies and the creation of new ideas. The 21st century has already been characterized by its explosion of new technologies, which in turn leads to completely outstanding artist movements, which as was proven through this week’s topic, includes that of the art of the human body, and how both artists and medical scientists alike can transform the way in which we view our bodies.
Resources:
Glatter, Robert. “Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?” 20 October 2013. Web. Accessed 20 April 2015. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/10/20/can-studying-art-help-medical-students-become-better-doctors/
National Geographic. “Top Five Taboos: Beauty.” Web. 2015. Accessed 20 April 2015.
Orlan. “Orlan Official Site.” Web. 2014. Accessed 20 April 2015. http://www.orlan.eu/
Panda, S.C. “Medicine: Science or Art?” January 2005. Web. Accessed 20 April 2015. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3190445/
Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine and Art: Part 3.” YouTube. YouTube. Web. 22 April 2012. Accessed 20 April 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4
I enjoyed reading your blog. I do agree that humans are fascinated by the human body. However, I also think that sometimes they do take it over board by doing stuff like plastic surgery or even tattoo. Here is where the body becomes a canvas. With the new technology that we have in this century, people have been able to alter their body to be something they really are not. They have their own reasons why, whether it is trying to fit in or to fix and injury, these alternative methods alter the body in different ways. When it comes to tattoos it is interesting how people decided to get one. They can be as big as an entire body or a very small image. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see where technology has taken us to use our body as a method to express artistically.
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