Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/524739794060501895/

The prosthesis fine jewelry that is talked about in Luxereau’s reading is quite terrifying, but I wanted to discuss it because it relates so much to the culture in Los Angeles. I could definitely see people in Los Angeles wearing these embedded jewelry pieces because it is very similar to all the plastic surgery that is done in LA for people to make themselves look like their version of more beautiful. The models’ physical appearances shown in his photo gallery make the girls look completely different with their prostheses than they would look without them. So many people, especially women, feel as though they need to enhance their beauty through surgery, but natural beauty is often times the prettiest. The technology of plastic surgery, such as prosthesis jewelry, has become a work of art, making real people seem as though they are dolls.

Warwick’s technology has further expanded the use of science and medicine to create something innovative that could one day change the future. His work on Project Cyborg allowed him to insert a transmitter into his arm, which was used to control devices that were in his proximity. He basically became a human cyborg through the use of his own nervous system. The idea was that his technology could help the disabled, or anyone that had damage done to their central nervous system. Technology like that of Warwick’s is both artistic and technological because it embodies both creativity and scientific intelligence. 

http://nutri.com/blog/2012/11/promising-research-
on-treating-nerve-damage-with-vitamin-c/

 MRI technology has always fascinated me because of the combination of the simplicity that is used for the convenience of the patient and the complexity of the technology used by the doctors. Casini explains how she views MRI technology as “a transparent window onto the self.” Essentially, it is an art piece of ourselves, or a more intense, yet more authentic version of a self portrait. This technology has saved people’s lives, allowing doctors to see health complications that they were never able to see before. Similarly, the last time I went to the eye doctor, I couldn’t believe that all they have to do now is take a picture of your eye using a machine to see the prescription you need. Soon, everything will be done with technology, which also relates to last week’s lesson of how mechanization is taking over, leaving fewer tasks that humans have to do themselves.

http://www.momentummagazineonline.com/beautiful-brain/

Sources:

"Arts." Christophe Luxereau : Arts / Electrum Corpus / Photos1. The Vanessa Quang Gallery, 2002. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

Casini, Silvia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts. N.p.: Johns Hopkins UP and the Society for Literature and Science, 2012. Print.

Ingber, Donald E. "The Architecture of Life." Scientific American (1998): 48-57. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

Warwick, Kevin. "Kevin Warwick." Kevin Warwick. N.p., Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.