Das Week 4: MedTech + Art

 

MedTech EuropeArt of Life When MedTech meets Art - MedTech Europe

  I have little to no experience with medical technology, I am as far from a woman in STEM as you can get. However, the intertwining of art, medicine, and technology was incredibly interesting this week, especially in regards to the professor’s discussions on the human body, and how art and medicine intersected in that topic. From downloading 3D human renderings meant for medical technologies, proven to be critical for her art, to simply observing a live model when sketching, this lecture focused on human dissection and its importance (Vesna). Artists and doctors working hand in hand to illustrate, understand, and document human bodies piqued my interest in regards to plastic surgery; something that almost seems like an art form in relation to medicine.

Plastic surgery room
https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5nz4g/disfigured-wwi-vets-were-the-first-plastic-surgery-patients

    After some research, I discovered that the origin of plastic surgery, “didn’t come from a place of vanity, but rather one of necessity” (Meyer). Like most everything in our society, plastic surgery came into existence due to desperation, before it took on the more fabulous and elite aesthetic it bears today. World War 1 veterans became socially isolated due to injuries, specifically to their heads, and begged for a solution to feel confident enough to show their face to their families, let alone get a job or maintain a social life. These desperate pleas were met by doctors willing to take the risk, and cosmetic surgery was born. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that beauty ideals were brought to the forefront, and rather than healing a scarred veteran, surgeries started to focus more on making unattainable beauty standards attainable for any and all who wanted them, embracing the “art” of the human body in a more perfect way, almost referencing our discussions on the golden ratio from a few weeks ago (Vesna) . How healthy this practice is, I cannot say, but I can admire the connection between art and science in this concept.

Mel Reis, Brazilian ballerina
https://www.thisismedtech.com/when-medtech-meets-art/

    Another concept that was on my mind was the interaction between disability and performance art, where a hearing aid or prosthetic can help someone create and move. For instance, Brazilian ballerina, Mel Reis, had to amputate part of her leg and created a prosthetic pointe foot to reclaim her body and craft, stating that, “amputation of a limb is not a synonym of death, but rather the restoration of a body” (Barker). Similarly, I was reminded of an America’s Got Talent episode where deaf singer Mandy Harvey used visual tuners to relearn how to sing proper pitches after losing her hearing to an illness at age 18 (Christopher). She performed beautifully on stage and even got the golden buzzer!

SOURCES:

Barker, Alice. “When MedTech Meets Art.” This Is MedTech, www.thisismedtech.com/when-medtech-meets-art/.

Christopher. “Mandy Harvey, Deaf Singer, Finds an Audience. and Leaves It Weeping.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 June 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/arts/television/americas-got-talent-mandy-harvey-deaf-singer.html. 

Meyer, Mari, and Emmelie van den Wall Bake. “The Photos of the First Plastic Surgery Patients Hint at How Desperate You Had to Be.” Tonic, VICE, 17 Sept. 2018, tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/j5nz4g/disfigured-wwi-vets-were-the-first-plastic-surgery-patients.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Youtube, Uploaded by uconlineprogram, 9 Apr. 2012, https://youtu.be/mMmq5B1LKDg

Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Parts 1-3." Youtube, Uploaded by uconlineprogram. Web. 20 April 2022.

IMAGES:

“Art of Life When MedTech Meets Art.” MedTech Europe, 28 Sept. 2017, https://www.medtecheurope.org/news-and-events/news/art-of-life-when-medtech-meets-art/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022. 

“Mel Reis.” When MedTech Meets Art, 31 Oct. 2017, https://www.thisismedtech.com/when-medtech-meets-art/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022. 

Wall Bake, Emmelie van den. “Plastic Surgery Room.” Disfigured WWI Vets Were the First Plastic Surgery Patients, 17 Sept. 2018, https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5nz4g/disfigured-wwi-vets-were-the-first-plastic-surgery-patients. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022. 



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