To be honest, before this lecture, I never thought that
there was connection between medical science and art. They seem to be in
completely two different worlds. After viewing all these stuff, I find that I
ignore an important component that involves in both subjects---human body. Of
course medical research needs human body, its goal is to solve the problems occurred
with people in daily life. But, indeed, the human body is already an art piece.
The combination of organs and bones, the division and regeneration of cells are
all achieved magically and precisely by the art of nature.
Plastic surgery is a good example of this combination. It is
kind of surprise to me that it’s invented 4000 years ago and it progressed with
the outbreak of wars. The original purpose of plastic surgery was to restore
limbs, faces that are destructed in the war by bombs and chemicals. But now it
evolves to a fast but dangerous way to achieve beauty. For example, South
Korean has a strong entertainment industry and each year those entertainment
companies produce thousands of stars. Despite few people with very special
talents, the first determinant of becoming a pop star is the appearance. The
company will ask trainees to “modify” the places that are not perfect, such as
doing a double eyelid operation, a nose job or cutting the chin. After a series
of modification and training, we can see beautiful boys and girls singing and
dancing on the stage or in the music video. It’s both visual and aural
enjoyments.
south Korean pop star
There are also some artists and scientists sacrificing their
bodies to art. Kevin Warwick is one of them. In order to explore the world of
artificial intelligence, he underwent an operation to surgically implant a silicon chip
transponder in his forearm. With the special signal emitting by the chip, he
can open the door, heater without lifting a finger. He also put a one hundred electrode array was surgically implanted into the median nerve fibers of the
left arm to get signal of nervous system. He made himself as a cyborg to
further explore the mystery of the body and stretch body to limit.
Just like Ronald E. Ingber states in “The Architecture of Life”,
the construction of human body follows the rule of any other construction. It
also uses self-assembly and form of tensegrity. It is just like a perfect
architecture built by natural world. We want to use art and medical technology
to find the single underlying theme to the nature.
sources:
Oh, Seung-mock. "Appearance Is Everything 40% of South Korean 20-somethings Have Had Cosmetic Surgery." BusinessKorea. 3 July 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. <http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/lifestyle/11280-appearance-everything-40-south-korean-20-somethings-have-had-cosmetic-surgery>.
Juju Chang, Victoria Thompson."South Korea’s Growing Obsession with Cosmetic Surgery." AbcNEWS. 20 June 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. <http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/south-koreas-growing-obsession-cosmetic-surgery/story?id=24123409>.
Kevin Warwick. "I Cyborg". Kevin Warwick. Web. 22 Apr, 2016.
Engber, Donald E. "The Architecture of Life." Scientific American January 1998 (1997). Print.
Casini, Silvia, and Ca' Foscari Universita Di Venezia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts. 2011 ed. Johns Hopkins UP and the Society for Literature and Science, 2012. Print. 19:73-99.
Orlan – Carnal Art (2001) Documentary. Dir. Stéphan Oriach. Perf. Orlan. N.d. Film.
YouTube. Web. 21 Apr, 2016.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=no_66MGu0Oo>
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