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| Asclepius, Greek God of medicine; healers would dress as deities like this to help their patients heal more quickly |
It can certainly be argued that
there is an art to medicine, and one doesn’t have to look hard to find artistic
elements in medical procedures. Besides the fact that medicine has
traditionally had an influence on art, such as the importance of human dissection
in artists’ accurate representations of the body (Vesna), art has also inspired
medicine for thousands of years. Ancient healers used natural remedies,
repeated ‘healing’ incantations, and in some cases even dressed up as different
deities to help patients believe that they were being healed ("Belief and the Healing Arts of Ancient Civilizations."). Since this
ancient placebo effect of sorts, the healing powers of psychological belief have
been adopted by modern medicine as well. Though doctors may no longer dress up
in costume to convince their patients that they’re being taken care of, the
relationship between mind and body has been explored and developed in modern
medicine and it has been proven that feeling better psychologically can have a
tremendous impact on one’s physical recovery (Arguriou).
Medical
technology and art are also intertwining in more modern ways as well—for
instance, scientists are getting close to being able to project one’s thoughts
and memories into a video format. They use fMRIs to decode brain waves after subjects
watch a YouTube video, and use the resulting waves to reconstruct the images
within the mind. Soon, the ideas one thinks and dreams could become a visual
masterpiece (Diaz).
YouTube clip demonstrating how brain waves can be translated into images
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsjDnYxJ0bo
While it
seems as though art and medicine have a positive relationship, sometimes their connection
can go too far. This week’s video featuring the artist Orlan seemed more like a
display of attention seeking instability rather than an artistic commentary
(Orlan). Self-mutilation in pursuit of beauty is not art, in my opinion. This
reminded me of the internet sensation surrounding the extensive plastic surgery
performed on a young Russian girl, Valeria Lukyanova, in her attempt to attain
the looks of the ultimate icon of beauty, Barbie. (Idov).
 |
| Valeria Lukyanova, the Human Barbie doll |
Works Cited:
Arguriou, Peter. "The Placebo Effect - The Triumph of Mind over Body." Nexus Magazine. NexusMagazine, July 2007. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
"Belief and the Healing Arts of Ancient Civilizations." WRF. World Research Foundation. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
Diaz, Jesus. "Scientists Reconstruct Brains' Visions Into Digital Video in Historic Experiment." Gizmodo. 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Idov, Michael. "Valeria Lukyanova, the Human Barbie Doll." GQ. Condé Nast, Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Orlan -- Carnal Art (2001) Documentary. Dir. Stéphan Oriach. Perf. Orlan. N.d. Film. YouTube. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Parts 1-3." Lecture. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
Great job presenting two contrasting parts to the relationship between medicine and art. I liked that you presented a positive aspect of the medicine and art relationship with brainwaves being converted into images that can be used for art pieces in the future. What made this positive aspect that much more amazing was your juxtaposition using Orlan and the Human Barbie. Great analysis of this week's topic that made me think about the material in a way the lecture did not.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you talked about how doctors in ancient times made healing a performance to increase their patients faith in them. Even though doctors no longer dress up like gods, in a sense doctors wearing scrubs and coats serve a similar role in increasing the perceived authority of the doctor. The part of your post about using MRI to decode brain activity is fascinating and something I didn't know was possible. It makes me wonder if we will ever reach a point when our brain activity could be picked up by machines and used to operate them. The link between science and medicine will probably lead to many fascinating breakthroughs in the future.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you pointed out how the relationship between art and medicine can sometimes be unhealthy in todays society. You articulated the negative effects that it can have very well. I believe this is very true in some situations such as the artist Orlan we covered in unit 4. I believe we should focus on the positive effects it can have as opposed to the unnecessary "beauty" in which it creates.
ReplyDelete