Unit 4: Medicine and Art

This week’s lectures explained how medicine can be considered a form of art. I was very surprised to hear how important the human anatomy was in art. While I knew that the body was a focus of many art pieces, I did not realize how much detail goes into when replicating the body in an art piece. Art is similarly important to anatomy, such that it spreads the word about technological advances and keeps people aware of new medical discoveries. For example, “Body Worlds”, a traveling exhibition created by Gunther van Hagens, displays how Plastination works and shows examples of Plastinated bodies.

Image result for body worlds

 I knew about the idea of plastic surgery, mostly from television and social media, but was curious how this would really relate to art. I found it very interesting to find out about Arlon and the surgical performances she would put on, and how she would pick different features for herself based on women from different famous paintings. I mostly thought of plastic surgery as an optional thing to help improve the way you look, however things such as prosthetic limbs are also considered plastic surgery which is especially useful to help soldiers who have lost limbs.

 Image result for orlan plastic surgery performance

 In one of the lecture videos, it is mentioned that artists often predict the future regarding new technology. In the trailer for "Artificial Intelligence", I found it very interesting how they came up with the idea of creating a child for parents who were unable to have their own, and thought it tied in well with these week's lectures about how art can possibly influence medicine.

Image result for artificial intelligence movie

Work Cited

 "Artificial Intelligence: AI 2001." Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001) Movie Posters. N.p., 29 June 2001. Web. 01 May 2017.

 Georgelewis. "Artificial Intelligence Trailer HQ (2001)." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Aug. 2008. Web. 01 May 2017.

 "ONLINE COURSE LOGIN." Course Login | Online Course Login. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2017.

 "Telus Sparks Presents Body Worlds Vital." The Weal. N.p., 24 Mar. 2016. Web. 01 May 2017.

 Wilhelmina, Katerina. "Orlan Quotes." Chatter Busy. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2017.

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 2, 2017 at 5:41 PM

    Hi, I really enjoyed reading your post. I think you've done a great job covering this week's topics. I particularly liked your note about "Artificial Intelligence" movie. Have you seen the movie? If not, I really suggest you do! I remember it affected my emotions a lot when I watched it several years ago, and made me think about my morals, intelligent robots and the future of our society!

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