This
week we explored medicine, technology, and art. At first, I found Professor
Vesna’s lectures to be the most helpful for understanding the overall
relationship between the three topics. I especially enjoyed the portion of the
lecture when she talked about how plastic surgery. I had no idea that plastic
surgery had been around for over 4,000 years and that it came from the Greek
word plasticos, which means to give
form to or to shape. I always thought of plastic surgery as a vain procedure
that rich people in Beverly Hills get to make themselves feel better. However,
after this lecture I now see the artistic side to it. Plastic surgeons are not
only doctors but they are also artists.
I
found Orlan’s use of plastic surgery as an art medium to be a little
off-putting at first. It upset me a little that she would choose to operate on
herself just to entertain people. As I looked into her work more however, I
learned that her goal through her work is to confront the social and cultural
pressures that people are put under in todays society. I like how she questions
these pressures by using not only art but science and medicine also.
Orlan’s
work helped me understand the more artistic side of this weeks unit and
learning about Professor Kevin Warwick’s work helped me understand the more
scientific and medical side. Warwick is a Professor of Cybernetics and is first
person to make major advances in becoming a cyborg himself. He has implanted a
neuro-surgical chip into his arm that links his nervous system to a high tech
computer that can allow him to do things without physically acting on them. With his neuro-surgical chip Warwick can
maneuver a wheelchair and control an artificial hand all by using his brain. His
advances in this type of technology have also helped identify “the onset of Parkinsonian tremors such
that they can be stopped by means of a deep brain implant” (Warwick).
Another interesting art installation that I found
helpful when exploring the artistic side of this unit was the gallery of
Osmoboxes created by Eduardo Kac. Kac uses boxes that release a smell whenever
an audience approaches. I enjoyed this installation because it focused on using
a different sense than what we normally associated art with.
Work Cited
"Gallery For Orlan Surgery." Gallery For Orlan Surgery. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://imgarcade.com/1/orlan-surgery/>.
"Harold Gillles Plastic Surgery Archives from WWI | Findmypast.com."Harold Gillles Plastic Surgery Archives from WWI | Findmypast.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Kac, Eduardo. "OSMOBOXES." OSMOBOXES. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ekac.org/osmobox.html>.
"Kevin Warwick - Home Page." Kevin Warwick - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.kevinwarwick.org/>.
McClimans, Fred. "Is That a Chip in Your Shoulder, or Are You Just Happy to See Me?" CNN. Cable News Network, 2 Sept. 1998. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9809/02/chippotent.idg/index.html>.
"ORLAN OFFICIAL WEBSITE / SITE OFFICIEL D'ORLAN."BIOGRAPHY/Biographie. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.orlan.eu/biography/>.