Whether one sees it as DIY Frankenstein or redefining beauty standards, Orlan's experience under the knife evokes the topics we have been studying in this course. Orlan said it herself in the quote above during an interview expressing the importance of working with science and art as one.
[Image 1: Orlan's borrowings from paintings]
After watching the assigned videos and further delving into this week's topic by reading and scrolling through pages of plastic surgery nightmares, I have come to a personal opinion. Through mixing science + art, the final product could serve as a vehicle of impact. It can improve society and be used for education purposes like we have learned through the body exhibitions.
[Image 2: Body Exhibition by Gunther von Hagens]
This unit has been both very intriguing and disturbing (but I can't seem to look away)! It really puts into perspective the world that we are living in and the future we are moving towards.
Diane Gromala's TED Talk on her journey to bettering her chronic pain relays the importance of mixing art and science and also echoes Unit 1: Two Cultures. In her talk, she spoke about hiring a diverse team including: a physician, computer scientist, designer and animator to create something with healing capabilities. This example sheds some light on what a "Third Culture" can discover.
[Image 3: Diane in Virtual Reality]
Another look into how art+science can create impact is by diving deeper into what a MRI can represent. Being able to perform non-invasive procedures alone to the brain in the past 10 years led to many medical advances. Rasaroli, in Silvia Casini's MRI reading, describes the MRI image synonymously to a self portrait, where the MRI functions "as an acoustic mirror capable of doubling the body and enacting the process of recognition and misrecognition."
[Image 4: Components of a MRI Scanner]
Until this week, I would have not thought about medicine as another indirect form of art. Now that I think about it, even surgery deals with concentration, precision and sometimes creativity, which can all be experienced by artists when creating a new art installation. It may be a long shot to call surgeons and physicians artists, but it shows how art can be subtle, yet influential and pervasive in our society.
WORKS CITED:
"A Life in
Science." Gunther Von Hagens. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Casini, Silvia.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations
between Science and the Arts. Print.
Coyne, Kristin.
"MRI: A Guided Tour." MagLab. N.p., 8 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Jeffries, Stuart.
"Orlan's Art of Sex and Surgery." The Guardian. N.p., 1 July 2001.
Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Rose, Spencer.
"Confronting Pain Project Basis for New Chronic Pain Research Institute at
Simon Fraser University | GRAND NCE." GRAND. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 26
Apr. 2015.
"TEDxAmericanRiviera
- Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty." YouTube. YouTube, 7
Dec. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Hi Jaime!
ReplyDeleteI love how your post focused in on Orlan’s choice in portraying her own beauty as a work of art; I believe that while plastic surgery’s connotations with shallow Hollywood and dissatisfaction with upper middle-class life, its place at the intersection of technology and art really shows the progress that our society has made since the industrial revolution. Similarly, the body exhibition showcases technological progress’s contribution to disturbing art and educational exhibits. To contrast this, and highlight medtech advancements, Diane Gromala’s chronic pain treatments using virtual reality is further mentioned in your post and gives perspective about the future of medical applications.