Medtech and Art

I have never seen how medicine and art being interconnected until stepping back and looking at our technology that we use to diagnose and treat ill patients. Also, the idea of how we use that technology, like how Orlan used plastic surgery to convey a deeper message, connects the two at a greater depth. We have the ability now to drastically change how someone looks, through basic or complex plastic surgery. This surgery uses the medical technology that we have today in order to manipulate the human body into a new form. This is a paradigm shift; while they did have minor plastic surgery hundreds of years ago today, we were not able to drastically reshape the human body as we can today. This reforming of the body is a form of art because we are using our flesh to convey something like a social norm, deeper meaning, or inner emotional struggle etc. It invokes emotion; the people surrounding the newly reformed human often act negatively towards them because of the "taboo" nature of plastic surgery- unless you live in 90210.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5kIWXaWO1M

There is also a large social issue with plastic surgery- that people feel like they need to change their physical self in order to fit into a social norm. This is how medical technology can be abused, and how our normal perception of beauty and art can have a negative affect on people's emotions.

When doctors say the Hippocratic Oath, their goal is to help people. Through plastic surgery, this is often the case, as seen in the YouTube video above. These standards that people feel like they must abide by are caused by social issues, but doctors have the ability to change their outlook on life by giving them something that allows them to be more confident in themselves, which is definitely helping the patient.

Works Cited:

Dashusland. New York Magazine: The New New Face. Digital image.Dashusland. Dashusland, 4 Aug. 2008. Web. 12 July 2014. <http://www.dashusland.com/ny_magazine/>.

"Orlan - Carnal Art (2001) Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 12 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_66MGu0Oo>.

Plastic Surgery Face. Digital image. Spokane Plastic Surgery. Spokane Plastic Surgery, 2014. Web. 12 July 2014. <http://spokaneplasticsurgery.net>.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 11 July 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>.

""Ugly" Kids Bullied In High School Resort To Plastic Surgery To Look Beautiful/Handsome..." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 12 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5kIWXaWO1M>.