Week 4: Art, Technology, and Medicine

Art, medicine, and technology have been greatly influenced by each other.

One of the more extreme ways that artists use medicine for art is through body modifications. Quite a few people already modify their bodies through piercings and tattoos but certain artists take their art a bit further and surgically modify their bodies. One such artist is Orlan. From 1990 to 1995, she underwent nine surgical operations in order to gain features of women from famous artwork like the Mona Lisa or Botticelli’s Venus (Jeffries). She did this not to make herself beautiful but to “disrupt the standards of beauty” (Frank).

Professor Kevin Warwick underwent an unconventional surgery in order to advance the advance the field of cybernetics. In his procedure he implanted a device into the medial nerves of his left arm that allows him to link his nervous system to a computer ("Kevin Warwick - Home Page." ). This work has potential implications in creating cybernetic limbs for amputees. I am further impressed by this medical procedure because I did not know we even had the technology to allow a person’s nervous system to communicate with computers.

Virtual reality is a rapidly advancing technology which has been found to have soothing functions for patients. Professor Diane Gromala suffers from chronic pain but has that virtual reality programs actually help reduce the pain she experiences. (Gromala) Virtual reality has also found an application in treating burn victims. Some patients still suffering from pain from old burns have responded positively to virtual experiences that place them in a cold environment ("Virtual Penguins A Prescription For Pain?").

Works Cited

Frank, Priscilla. "ORLAN Talks Plastic Surgery, Beauty Standards And Giving Her Fat To        

Madonna (PHOTOS, INTERVIEW, NSFW)." TheHuffingtonPost, 29 Jan. 2013. Web.   26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/performance-artist-orlan-  interview-beauty-surgery_n_2526077.html>.

Gromala, Diane. "Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty." TEDxAmericanRiviera. 26 Apr. 2015. Lecture.

Jeffries, Stuart. "Orlan's Art of Sex and Surgery." The Guardian, 1 May 2009. Web. 26 Apr.     2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/jul/01/orlan-performance-artist-    carnal-art>.

"Kevin Warwick - Home Page." Kevin Warwick. The University of Reading, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.kevinwarwick.org/>.

"Virtual Penguins A Prescription For Pain?" NPR, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.             <http://www.npr.org/2012/02/12/146775049/virtual-penguins-a-prescription-for-pain>.