When I had an MRI scan done on
me knee to diagnose the status of an ACL injury in high school, I remember
lying with my legs in a large metal tube as I
waited for the black and white picture that would tell me if I needed surgery or
not. Recently, I have also spent several quarters in my classes looking at MRI images
of the body, trying to identify individual shapes and structures on the page.
As a Physiological Science major, it seems as if I have been trained to
perceive these images and the body itself as a network of cells, tissues, and organs –
and just that.
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| MRI showing an ACL tear in the knee |
However, this week’s lecture
has been interesting as Vesna shows how science and technology has changed and
incorporated art in our view of the body. Take MRI for example. This scientific
tool not only allows doctors to pinpoint injury or disease as most people would
think. In addition to showing a visual biological representation, as Silvia
Casini explains the experience of an MRI creates “a feeling of one’s own
identity and body that endures after the scan is complete” (Casini 15). Others
like Dianne Gromala use MRI with other technologies like virtual reality for
both medical treatment and art for people to view. As these artists and the
video below demonstrate, medical technology can be used as a creative tool and
a means to produce an aesthetic spectacle.
MRI scan of a beatboxer
Orlan
is an artist who has turned plastic surgery into a performance art. One
columnist wrote that applying science to work on the concept of image, she has
developed a unique form of expression (Jeffries). Still, as medical technologies
shift our relationship with our bodies through plastic surgery and inventions
like the bionic arm, I feel that it is important to maintain an appreciation
for the authenticity and beauty of the natural human body while using
contemporary innovations to improve and learn more about it.
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| Orlan, with 9 plastic surgeries, blends medicine and art |
References:
Casini,
Silvia. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI
Configurations Between Science and Arts.” (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 26 April 2015.
Gromala,
Diane, perf. Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. 2011. Video. 26
Oct 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cRdarMz–Pw>.
Jeffries, Stuart. “Orlan’s art of
sex and surgery.” The Guardian, n.p. 1 July 2009. Web. 26 April 2015.
Uconlineprogram.
“Medicine pt1.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 April 2012. Web. 26 April 2015.
< https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=710&v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.
Uconlineprogram.
“Medicine pt2.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 April 2012. Web. 26 April 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.
