Skip to main content

Week 4: Medtech + Art

I am particularly interested by the rapid evolution of technology in the medical field because of how much technology influences every aspect of our lives – but this week I enjoyed learning about where the field of medicine originated. I found that reading the Hippocratic Oath was interesting because of how it has changed over the years.  In the original oath, its contents were generally based off of respecting the body, the patient, and the art form that is medicine – encouraging those who have this knowledge to share it with others.  It is interesting how the field of medicine has changed since then, in that it is seen as separate from art, and the knowledge of medicine has been restricted to those who are intelligent enough to survive medical school as well as have the monetary stability to afford it.  To me, this modern view of medicine does not seem to coincide with the original standards it was founded on as seen in The Hippocratic Oath.

            And while this shift in view is apparent in our society today, I found it intriguing how artists use medical technology to inspire and create art.  This is seen in the article about MRI’s and how artists have used not only the images that these scans create, but also the sensory experience of being inside the MRI machine to inspire their artwork.  However, I found the work by Diane Gromala to be the most interesting to me, because of the recent craze of Virtual Reality that has swept through the media.  I love the idea of using VR to treat chronic pain by combining it with biofeedback and mindfulness meditation.  This also related to a topic brought up in Lecture Part 3 that electronic medicine may surpass chemical medicine in the near future.  I think that rather than giving patients tons of different medication, it is beneficial to pair chemical cures with activities that improve health.  This is shown in VR activities that increase positive feelings by allowing patients to escape in the world being shown to them, rather than keeping patients cooped up in a hospital for long periods of time.
MRI Scan Image
Below is a link to an example of a Virtual Reality experience: 



References

Austin, Jon. "Cancer breakthrough: MRI scanners can rid body of cancerous tumours, scientists claim." Express.co.uk. Express.co.uk, 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.

"Surrounded by Wild Elephants in 4k 360." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.

TEDxTalks. "TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - C

urative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty." YouTube. YouTube, 07 Dec. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

"The all-new Hippocratic Oath." The Privacy Surgeon. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

Uconlineprogram. "Medicine pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

Comments

  1. You bring up an interesting point when you talk about the idea that electronic forms of medicine may surpass chemical ones in the near future. In my opinion, I think the most likely future scenario is that we fine some sort of balance point with these two forms of medicine, where both serve their own unique purposes. Whereas technologies like virtual reality can definitely help with calming the mind and influencing an individual's mental state, chemical forms of medicine are clearly still needed in the treatment of physical abnormalities such as cancer. Nevertheless, it is definitely interesting how artists are utilizing their skills and talents to bring things like VR into the realm of medicine that serve very real and helpful purposes in the field. Great observations!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 2: Math + Art

The Flagellation by Piero de la Francesca After reviewing this week’s materials regarding mathematics and art, I was astounded with some of the information that I learned.   I decided to focus my attention on the artist named Piero de la Francesca who was mentioned in Lecture.   As shown in his painting, “The Flagellation”, he employed several strategies in order to create the illusion of depth by developing a foreground and background and depicting each object in a real-life scale.   This attention to detail in the proportions of his painting came from studying the geometry of vision.   Francesca was committed to creating accurate and real-world like images in his paintings, so investigating the relationships between the eye and an object, as well as the way the eye would see objects in relation to one another shaped the way he created his artwork.   And although it seems obvious to use math when distinguishing accurate proportions in a drawing, it never o...

Event #1

Sophie Lamparter presenting. I decided to attend the art symposium for my first event blog and was fortunate enough to hear two presentations by Sophie Lamparter and Dr. Olivia Osborne.   Both of these lecturers embodied the practice of combining art and science in their presentations, and I was extremely impressed by the ingenuity that their projects involved.   I think that by attending this symposium, I was able to grasp the seemingly abstract idea that art and science are connected by seeing the real-life examples that they had created in their research. Dr. Olivia Osborne and I outside of the symposium. In Sophie Lamparter’s presentation, she mentioned a project that really caught my attention because of its futuristic nature.   She introduced a project that her company is working on called the “Science Communication Project” where they are building two greenhouses side by side and creating a unique and separate type of environment within each of them. ...

EXTRA CREDIT Event #5

For my final extra credit blog, I decided to attend the African-Print Fashion Now! exhibit at the Fowler Museum on campus – and I am so glad that I did.   This art gallery was not what it seemed at first glance.   When I entered the gallery, I was struck by all of the incredible colors and patterns that the textiles reflected throughout the room. There were cloth samples of a variety of patterns, as well as a plethora of mannequins adorned in beautifully constructed garments.   At first, I was mesmerized by the clothes themselves, but I realized so much more after I started to read the blurbs that were placed next to each photograph, garment, and textile.   This exhibit was about much more than just clothes, and as I began to understand the history behind the development, popularization, and production of these textiles and clothes, I understood why it had been included as an event option in this class.         ...