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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Human_Project |
In my opinion, the most interesting medically-artistic milestones include the 1994 data sets of digitized cadaver photographs and the 1990 Human Genome Project. The later was complex as it was considered "the world's largest collaborative project" (Wikipedia). It led to the discovery of 25,000 genes and the sequences of chemical base pairs (Vesna). These accessible data sets and pictures were great sources of inspiration for artists.
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| http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-klitzman-md/human-genome-project_b_3081121.html |
However, plastic surgery is the most relevant artistic medical procedure in my culture. I live in the famous zipcode for medically transforming faces and bodies by plastic surgery; it has become a normal way to enhance beauty and conceal aging, as seen in the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK7Zkzz348M
I have learned that the original use of plastic surgery was not for these reasons. 4,000 years ago, plastic surgery was originally used to reconstruct faces of soldiers and civilians involved in war (Vesna). Ancient India is credited to be the first to use skin graphs to reshape the faces of those who were wounded (Vesna). It was a necessary medical procedure, not one out of luxury. The true artistic beauty in plastic surgery comes from artists like those who performed the medical procedure on war victims in ancient India.
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| https://www.royalfree.nhs.uk/services/services-a-z/plastic-surgery/facial-reconstruction-and-face-transplants/history-of-plastic-surgery/ |
Personally, I find the most important advancement in medicine, technology and art to be the creation of the prosthesis and bionic limbs. My older brother was born without a right femur and lived his whole life with a prosthetic leg. Without the technology used to create artificial limbs, people like my brother would more disabled than need be. My brother was able to be a great athlete and a normal kid, thanks to the artistic technologies of his prosthetic leg. A video of my family, my brother and his prosthetic leg can be seen in the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O46tz5TsOzk
Citations:
"Human Genome Project." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project>.
"Orange County's Own Rob Brooks -ABC News (1999)." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O46tz5TsOzk>.
"'Plastic Wives' Get Cosmetic Surgery for Free." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK7Zkzz348M>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=368&v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.
Hi Madeline! What a great blog! You gives many good examples of the applications of medical technologies in arts and also a really inspiring personal story of how bionic limbs help your brother to embrace a new life. We both talked about plastic surgery and the human genome project! Do you know that there is DNA origami, that is using DNA as a construction material to build nano 2D and 3D objects? You may check out that too! It is an very interesting extension of the DNA research! One last recommendation: you may incorporate the reading on MRI and artworks into your blog as another example of linkage between medtech and arts. Overall, a great blog and I really like the way you writes!
ReplyDeleteHello Madeline, I really enjoyed your article regarding the application/ synthesis of medicine and art. I see that you have already witnessed the miracles brought about by orthopedics and plastic surgeons from your brother. In a way, plastic surgeons are the ones carrying out artistic performances in order to reconstruct an individual's body part into what is aesthetically pleasing and desired.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the human genome project during the Clinton era inspired our entire society -- from artists to researchers and doctors -- an innovation that eventually became a fundamental and indisposable approach to life sciences, and one day medicine.
Overall you touched upon physical aspects of art found throughout medicine. I would recommend you also check out the influences art has on medicine, although this may not be as clear. Also I believe you would really enjoy the art based on fMRI scans.
Awesome blog! I was really inspired by the youtube video of your brother, and it reminded me of my best friend whose dad lost hist leg in a motor bike accident and relies on a functional prosthetic one, and would not be so active or happy without it. Plastic surgery is also an interesting phenomena, as people now use it widely to "fix" themselves to be socially desirable in ways that in the past would have been unheard of, or silly. However, there truly is an art to plastic surgery as it is the reconstruction of a body part like a carving of a sculpture. Artists' fascination with the human body throughout history, even with Michelangelo and Da Vinci, is still present today, and goes even further with the advancements in technology that have been made.
ReplyDeleteGood job!!!