Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

 

Humans have been cutting open bodies since almost the beginning of history (Vesna Week 4 Lecture, Part 1). Scientists used to cut sections of cadavers and photograph them (see below) until the 20th century brought new technologies to help us look inside bodies without cutting them open.

Scientist preparing to photograph transverse section of human head (Vesna Week 4, Part 1)

Two familiar methods of looking inside the body without cutting it open are the x-ray and the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) which was invented by Raymond Vahan Damadian. Dr. Damadian became his own first MRI patient because nobody else was willing to get inside the MRI. However, when he got into the machine it didn’t work and the reason turned out to be that he was too big, so a student had to get in instead.

As stated by Silvia Casini in her article, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts, “magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its functional correspondent (fMRI) are unsurpassed in showing anatomical detail and in the capacity to reveal minute changes that occur over time, respectively” (Casini Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

MRI - Screenshot from Week 4 Lecture Video, Part 2

I had an MRI once and even though it was very uncomfortable and very noisy, it was great to be able to get that procedure done to identify a benign growth that was subsequently removed. Thankfully I did not need to stay inside for 5 hours, as did the student whose body was used to produce the first MRI scan (Vesna Week 4 Lecture, Part 1).

Beyond medical use, these technologies have been used to create art, called “Bio Art.” The term “Bio Art” was coined by Eduardo Kac and an example of bio art is his Time Capsule (Kac Time Capsule) work which included an x-ray of a digital microchip he implanted in his own leg (see below.)

Eduardo Kac’s Time Capsule

Another example of art that uses internal body imagery is the jewelry of Emily Watson. Below is a section of one of her pieces that is reminiscent of images produced by an MRI.

Emily Watson's Rendered Brooch

Works Cited

Casini, S. (2011). Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts. Configurations (Baltimore, Md.), 19(1), 73–99. https://doi.org/10.1353/con.2011.0008

Kac, Eduardo. Time Capsule. Eduardo Kac. https://www.ekac.org/timcap.html Accessed on April 27, 2024.

Vesna, Victoria, Week 4 Lecture, Part 1. Accessed on April 27, 2024.

Vesna, Victoria, Week 4 Lecture, Part 2. Accessed on April 27, 2024.

Watson, Emily. Rendered brooch 7, sterling, copper, enamel Emily Watson. https://www.metalemily.com/portfolio/PortfolioEnamelRend.html. Accessed on April 27, 2024.


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