Medicine Technology and Art

This week’s topic is Medicine Technology and Art.  I am really amazed by this topic since I have never thought about the relationship between medicine technology and art. However, after the lecture, I believe that well-developed medical technology will better help artists to study human bodies.

Professor Vesna’s lecture firsts introduces the development of plastic surgery. Plastic surgery was first created by ancient Indian in order to treat the injury during the war. However, nowadays, more and more people use plastic surgeries in order to look nicer.  I believe that it is a very good example of the combination of art and medicine technology.  People have to have a very good understanding of beauty (for example, golden ratio) in order to do the surgery. In addition, rapid development of technology makes the plastic surgery possible to do. The development of technology also makes the surgery safer and cheaper.

I have been know the plastic surgery for a long time since a lot of pop stars in Asia use plastic surgery to help them look better.

41 year old actress Yoon Hyun Suk


looks much younger after surgery.

http://thedailyomnivore.net/2012/05/10/orlan/

We can also take artist Orlan as an example. Orlan has been doing plastic surgery over 6 times.  She makes her chin like Venus, nose like Psyche, lips like Europa while forehead like Mona Lisa.  When I look at her picture, I feel her eyes, nose, and mouse are in a great harmony, which is called golden ratio in art.

Yes, plastic surgery does make people look nicer. However, my question will be how long this magical effect will? And is there any side effect of the surgery. Below is a picture of a woman who took plastic surgery, but something went wrong.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3439638/Cosmetic-surgery-addict-injected-cooking-oil-into-her-own-face.html

After operation after operation, her face became enlarged. Even worse, she had some mental problems, and she is still very addicted to plastic surgery. For example, when she ran out of silicone, she injected cooking oil into her face. Apparently, plastic surgery has brought side effects to her, both physically and psychologically.

Born and raised in China, I am not a supporter of plastic surgery myself. There is a old chinese saying says “All the body parts, hairs and the skin are given by the parents. Do not dare to make changes or harms to them, as this will be a form of disobedience to the parents.” I believe people should be proud of the way they look. It is not worthy to risk health to get a perfect face. People should have a more critical thought of the relationship between medicine technology and art.  

Works Cited

 "《孝经》开宗明义章第一 原文 译文_国学智慧." 《孝经》开宗明义章第一 原文 译文_国学智慧. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. <http://www.sophia.net.cn/gu/folder12/2007118/2274.Html>.

Rex Feature. "Cosmetic Surgery addict injected cooking oil into her own face." 11 Nov.2008. Web. 23 Oct. 2013 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3439638/Cosmetic-surgery-addict-injected-cooking-oil-into-her-own-face.html

Vesna, Victoria. Unit 4 Lecture Medtech+Art. Web.27 Oct.2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk

Orlan. The Daily Omnivore. Web. 27 Oct. 2013

http://thedailyomnivore.net/2012/05/10/orlan/

Living Reincarnation. The Art Pour. Web. 27 Oct.2013

http://theartpour.com/2013/03/15/living-reincarnation/

Robotic and art

In the previous week’s lecture, we have learned that science (math) can play a very influential role in art.  This week topic, robotics and art, shows us how the art can also influence the technology development. In Professor Vesna’s lecture, she argues that art has greatly influenced technology development. She points that the idea of robots was first came up by artists.

This just reminds me of my favorite cartoon- Astro Boy when I was a kid. It was first published in 1952. The cartoon tells us the adventure of a robot called Astro Boy and how he saves the world. The author gives life to a robot. Astro Boy has ability to talk and think like human being. This can be considered as the originality of artificial intelligence.  

Astro Boy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nYBfYlU0mA

However, technology develop does not always have positive impact on art. In his article, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Benjamin points out “mechanical reproduction puts an end to uniqueness, creativity, and authenticity.”

In the movie, the terminator, artificially intelligence machines invented by human beings eventually get their own minds in the future. Then, they attempted to attack human beings and caused great damage. Even though it is only a frictional film, people should still be careful about technology development.

The Terminator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Jo8QoOTQ4

From the examples above, I believe that people should critically think about the relationship between art and robotics. Robotics and art should impact each other positively to develop a better society. UCLA now starts to do robotic surgery. Using robots to do the surgery will allow the surgery be more accurate and less expensive.

Robotic Surgery

http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=941

Works Cited

Astro Boy. 2009. Film. Youtube. Viso Trailer. 15 April. 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nYBfYlU0mA>

The Terminator. Film. Youtube. Eduarda Alice Santos. Nov.2006. Web. Oct 20. 2013.

< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Jo8QoOTQ4>

Robotic Surgery.  UCLA Health. Web. Oct 20.2013 <http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=941>

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. 1936. 

Vesna, Vectoria “Robotics + Art Lecture” 

<https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-3-view?module_item_id=970429>

Art+ Math

This week’s topic is about the relationship between math and art.  I have been thinking art and math have a very special connection since I am a math student but have also studied painting since I was young.

For example, “The Fourth Dimension” is studied by both mathematician and artist.   According to Linda Henderson, artists use the fourth dimension to express the unknown space while Mathematicians use it for problem solving. Nathan Selikoff also gives us a great sense of four dimensions on his website.   

http://nathanselikoff.com

Golden Ratio is also a well-known theory. For example, in the painting Mona Lisa, golden ratio is used everywhere.  Therefore, when people look from different directions  they can feel the beauty of Mona Lisa from different angles. In addition, people can also feel like Mona Lisa’s eyes are following them.

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/coastal-style/phi2.jpg

Besides painting, math can be also applied in music. Below is the famous Fourier Transformation. 

Fourier transformation is widely used to transform signals between time and frequency. The formula can also be applied when studying the wave.  With this great theory, people can study the wave and the sound, which is very useful for music study.

In addition, math itself is very creative and beautiful.  In the movie Good Will Hunting, Will uses his great intelligence to prove that math problems can also be great art works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7b0cLn-wHU

From all these examples above, people can clearly see that artists apply mathematical theories to make their art works better. Art can make mathematic more attractive to people. Therefore, people should never separate them. Art and math are together. They will continue challenge and contribute to each other. The word juxtaposition itself means that two things are side by side. I think it just explains the relationship between art and math. Art cannot stand alone without math. Math cannot live without art as well.

Works Cited

Good Will Hunting. Miramax Films, 1997. Film. Youtube. Samyeargin, 14 Sept. 2008. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7b0cLn-wHU>.

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion." Leonardo. 17.3 (1984): 205-210. Print.

"The Mona Lisa." The Golden Proportion and the Mona Lisa. Coastal Style Sisal Rugs, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.coastal-style.com/mona-lisa.html>.

Selikoff,Nathan.  "Fine artist playing at the intersection of interactivity, math, and code.".n.d Web. 12 Oct 2013.  <http://nathanselikoff.com/works/four-dimensions>

"Waveform Analysis Using The Fourier Transform" DATAQ Instruments N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct 2013. <http://www.dataq.com/applicat/articles/an11.htm>