Week 4: MedTech + Art

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Leonardo Da Vinci's Anatomical Sketches
https://drawingacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/Leonardo-da-Vinci-the-Anatomical-Artist2.jpg
Almost since the dawn of time, art has been preoccupied with capturing the beauty of the human form. Just as scientists used human cadaver dissection in the Renaissance to further medicine, humanitarian artists like Leonardo Da Vinci produced anatomical sketches to further our understanding of how to draw the human body (Sooke). Now, advances in medical technology have allowed for us to go beyond our fixed anatomy, editing our form and shape and driving new frontiers in art.

The French artist Orlan, quoted below, utilizes modern advanced in plastic surgery to turn her body into a canvas (Vesna). From modeling her chin, cheeks, and forehead after famous Renaissance paintings, to giving her devil horns with implants usually meant for cheekbone enhancement, Orlan surpasses human boundaries and challenges the concept of what it means to be human. Additionally, artist Marilene Oliver utilizes MRI imagery to create works of art that make the viewer consider their own form and the delicate balance of the inner workings of the body (Oliver).
Everyone is scared of genetic DIY. It's crucial for artists to work with such technologies. It is important that we work between science and art (Jeffries).
Paralyzed Patients Control Cafe Servers
https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/
disabled-people-robot-dawn-ver-beta-cafe-orby-lab-japan-fb10__700-png.jpg
Medical technology also allows for interfacing with human thought in a way never before possible. For instance, a cafe in Japan utilizes robot servers controlled entirely by paralyzed patients, allowing them to retain a useful connection to the outside world (BBC News). Such technology could allow artists to display a literal stream of consciousness, generate images directly from their minds, and unite people in brain interfaces into a collective artistic experience.


Similar to how dissection reshaped Renaissance art, a more and more detailed understanding of the human mind and body will permit art that provokes greater thinking on the human condition.
Forward Fold by Marilene Oliver
https://i.cbc.ca/1.4391559.1510083724!/fileImage/httpImage/
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Sources

“Japanese Cafe Uses Robots Controlled by Paralysed People.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Dec. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/technology-46466531.

Jeffries, Stuart. “Orlan's Art of Sex and Surgery.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 July 2009, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/jul/01/orlan-performance-artist-carnal-art.

Oliver, Marilène. Marilène Oliver Portfolio, DH Interactive Ltd, marileneoliver.com/about/artiststatement.

Sooke, Alastair. “Culture - Leonardo Da Vinci's Groundbreaking Anatomical Sketches.” BBC, BBC, 21 Oct. 2014, www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130828-leonardo-da-vinci-the-anatomist.

Vesna, Victoria. “http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2019. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.

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