Week 4 - Medicine, Technology, Art

One of the most fascinating topics within the world of art is the human body. The human form, instantly creates a connection between the viewer of a work of art (assuming the viewer is human) and the piece itself. An understanding, a mirror of our form draws many viewers in. For example, if one were to the view the La Pietà by Michelangelo, we would instantly recognize the forms and sensations of the figures. We begin to imagine the weight of Jesus’ body in our own arms, we can feel the sadness Mary feels, we can taste the salt from her tears. By simply having a body, we can empathize with other human forms, whether it is consciously or unconsciously.

 

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“Carnal” artist ORLAN, harnesses these “mirrored” sensations we experience when exposed to art. The raw footage of her plastic surgeries as she recites poetry and other works (often related to body image), invokes a sensations of squeamishness. We can feel the needle’s piercing our skin, the scalpel blade along our foreheads. The feeling may be uncomfortable but it often goes hand-in-hand with a curiosity that keeps our eyes glued to the T.V. screen as we watch Gray’s Anatomy, or view a piece from Body Worlds. A natural inclination to see within ourselves, to understand how works holds our interest. However, artists and engineers like ORLAN and professor Kevin Warwick have taken things beyond simply viewing our bodies, they have altered them, treated them as a medium, an object that is subject to our will. As if a malleable piece of meat, ORLAN has had numerous surgeries that completely reconfigure her appearance. Warwick has become part of his lab technology by implanting a microchip within himself allowing computer systems to track him and read electric impulses within his body. Even, Diane Gromala, a woman living with chronic pain and speaker on TED X, has experimented with the concept of molding flesh with her creation of a “meatbook”.

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Due to advances in technology and medicine, what was once considered a subject, our body, is now an object that can be modified beyond the scope of the Hippocratic Oath. We may now subject our bodies to a metamorphosis, attempting to enhance them. Our bodies now have potential to serve as an expressive medium for the mind.

Despite these many advances, we must also remember the frailty of our bodies as expressed by artist Eric Franklin, in his work The Body Electric. No matter how much we modify ourselves, our bodies remain a unique part of who we are.

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Works Cited

Medicine Pt1. Perf. Victoria Vesna. UC Online Program, 2012. Film.

Moret, A. "Eric Franklin: The Body Electric." Installation Magazine. Installation Magazine, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://installationmag.com/eric-franklin-the-body-electric/>.

Orlan, Carnal Art. CNC Images De La Culture, 2001. Film.

TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. Perf. Diane Gromala. TED Talks, 2011. Film.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." NOVA. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web.