Medicine has come a long way and art continues to
consistently weave in and out of medicine.
One of the more interesting topics covered in this week’s lecture was
the study and dissection of the human body hundreds of years ago for the
purposes of art. Many sculptures of
human bodies were created with amazing accuracy and I think that was only possible
with in depth and most likely invasive study of the human body. In the lecture, Professor Vesna pointed out
that Leonardo Da Vinci dissected human bodies against the will of the Church,
but today he’s known a lot more for his artistic contributions rather than his
disobedience to the Church. Da Vinci’s
works of art are a great example of the combinations between arts and
anatomy.
As a mechanical engineer, relating art to the use of prosthetic
arms was really enticing since it also relates to last weeks topic. In my classes, we always work on problems
involving the different movements of mechanisms from position, velocity, and
acceleration of the different links involved.
However, integrating that theory into medicinal purposes such as
prosthetic arms gave me a much different perspective on the purposes of the
material.
Prosthetic arms relate Vesna’s coverage of plastic
surgery. Plastic surgery is an even
better example of art and medicine. First
created through reconstructive surgery, plastic surgery now serves to enhance
the way people look. It has mainly aesthetic
purposes, which is much of what art is. I
was a bit taken aback by learning that a person underwent 9 surgical procedures
as a way to exhibit their interpretation of art. Not that I was against her interpretation,
but 9 surgical procedures is a lot and the fact that she was awake and read
literature is even more surprising.
Da Vinci's vitruvian man
This prosthetic arm closely mimics the motions of a human arm
One of Orlan's nine surgical procedures in her pursuit of art expression
Works Cited:
"Leonardo Da Vinci." Rees Magazin RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 July 2014.
"A Work of Art." The Hub. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 July 2014.
"Reincar. St Orlan." Photobucket. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 July 2014.
"Medicine Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 13 July 2014.
"Medicine Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 13 July 2014.
"Medicine Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 13 July 2014.
I agree with your insight about plastic surgery. Although medicine was originally perceived as an art form, it eventually evolved into the scientific field. However, the reverse effect occurred for plastic surgery - it was first used for reconstructive purposes for war victims and now it exists as a cosmetic procedure in our society.
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