Medicine + Tehnology + Art

            This week we looked at medicine, technology, and art.  Being a physiological science major, this topic particularly peaked my interest. 

            The human body has always been a major part of art, particularly during the Renaissance period when people began to experiment with human dissection (Bambach 2000).  Then in 1858, Henry Gray published Anatomy, and the book has been commonplace on the shelves of artists and physicians alike. 

An illustration from Gray’s Anatomy.

https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/exhibitions/archive/150-years-of-gray2019s-anatomy

            New technologies in plastic surgery following World War One resulted in an increase in popularity.  Society has become fascinated by it as expressed by the popularity of the television drama Nip/Tuck and the reality series Dr. 90210.  In many ways, the plastic surgeons themselves are exhibiting the connection between medicine and art by trying to create something beautiful through their work as a medical professional.  Additionally, the artist French Orlan has plastic surgeries performed on her for her artwork.  She has undergone operations in order to “to transform herself into a new being, modeled on Venus, Diana, Europa, Psyche and Mona Lisa” (Pescarmona 2003). 

The artist Orlan.

http://www.ienhance.com/articles/the-weird-science-of-plastic-surgery-art-introducing-artist-orlan

            Eduardo Kac is a Brazilian artist interested in many disciplines of bio art.  One of his notable works is the GFP Bunny, which was the successful breeding of a rabbit with green fluorescent protein giving the animal a green glow (Plohman 2000).  Like Orlan before him, the science is part of the artwork itself.  He hoped the art of his rabbit would force people to become aware of biotechnology.      

GFP Bunny.

www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html

 As illustrated by these examples, medicine, technology, and art can literally be linked. 

References:

"About Dr. Rey." Dr. Robert Rey. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://www.drrobertrey.com/pages/about.html>.

Bambach, Carmen. "Anatomy in the Renaissance". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/anat/hd_anat.htm

"BIO ART." KAC. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ekac.org/transgenicindex.html>.

Pescarmona, Denee. "Who Is Orlan?" UCSB English. 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://oldsite.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ecook/courses/eng114em/whoisorlan.htm>.

Plohman, Angela. "Eduardo Kac." Daniel Langlois Foundation. 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. <http://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=279>.