Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

 Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art 

    This week lecture has been one of the most surprising to me because I would have never though about making the connection between medicine and art. Medicine only made me think about science and math but after the previous lectures about the connection of math and science to art it made me see where this connection could be made. In Professor's Vesna's lecture, it made me think of the show Grey's Anatomy. The entertainment field is a form of art but according to Ellen Pompeo there was not much hope for a medical serious on TV as they released the first season; now this show has been airing for 18 seasons. 


Grey's Anatomy captured the COVID-19 pandemic in its 17th season, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiNIFDZb6BI&t=2s

    It has never occurred to me to think of X-rays and MRI's as a form of art because I only associated it to medicine. However, according to Casini's article, it allowed me to see how MRI's are able to depict a true image on oneself even with injuries or any "damage" that may be present. The human body is an intricate piece of art because every person has their own unique characteristics. Hence, MRI's are able to depict the differences through the sensors that are present. 

Benefits of Getting an MRI | Independent Imaging

https://www.independentimaging.com/benefits-of-getting-an-mri/

    Virgil Wong's TedTalk on his app development of a Medical Avatar made me see the power that art is able to have. Through his app, people are able to express empathy to others that may be experiencing the same symptoms as them but also keep into account how they are feeling. Being sick or in a severe health condition can be challenging for one to communicate which is why people tend to not speak about but Wong was able to develop a healthy community through the use of technology. His motivation was his mom who told him how art is the reason one lives. Personally, I am always terrified to go into a doctors office because I feel like if there is something wrong, then I would feel alone; however, Wong's app proves otherwise as he allows for an access to a connection where other people deal with the same conditions. 

Virgil Wong explaining the concept of his Medical Avatar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Uab4Dq0j0

Citations: 

1. Grey's Anatomy Season 17 "OMG" Trailer (HD ... - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiNIFDZb6BI. 

2. Benefits of getting an MRI. Independent Imaging. (2019, November 8). Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.independentimaging.com/benefits-of-getting-an-mri/  

3. Casini, Silvia. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts.” Configurations, vol. 19, no. 1, 2011, pp. 73–99

4. Artist + digital technologist transforming human health. Virgil Wong. (2022, April 3). Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.virgilwong.com/ 

5. Best of ted: Art + visualization at the ... - youtube.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Uab4Dq0j0 

6. Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine pt1.” Medicine + Technology + Art | Lectures. 22 Apr. 2022. 



Comments

  1. saja_kamal_desma9April 24, 2022 at 5:31 PM

    Hi Ashlyn!

    I too shared a similar sentiment as you of not totally realizing the extent to which medicine and art were intermingled, despite being an avid watcher of Grey's Anatomy. I really loved that you also thought to incorporate the aspect of such a groundbreaking program, like Grey's, as a digital art form to your blog. Moreover, your comment about the human body being an intricate piece of art really resonates with me, as well as the material we learned this week. This truly applies when thinking of the works of the early Renaissance and how artists of the time chose to depict the human body and our anatomy. And as you explained, MRI's are such a wonderful tool to further explore the nature of our bodies and the art it harbors through the use of technology. Overall, really great work and I loved how you were able to incorporate components of our lecture content like Wong's TEDTalk to discuss your own experiences with medicine, art, and technology.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 9: Science + Art

Image
Week 9: Science + Art      Science and art are usually not compared to one another but through the creative aspect of art, it influences to a scientific breakthrough. Scientists develop hypothesis on certain research topics they wish to find answers to. Albert Einstein even stated how science and art "tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and from" as well as emphasizing how the "greatest scientists are always artists."        There has been research about life in other places besides Earth throughout the past decades. Scientists expanded their research by sendings animals out into space like Laika, a Moscow street dog. Soviet rocket scientists wanted to send animals into space to have a better knowledge as to how it would affect humans in terms of launch and other aspects related to space travel. Laika was sent with other stray dogs on November 1957. Laika had the necessities to survive but the issue came due to the satellite....
Read more

Week 8: Nanotech + Art

Image
 Week 8: Nanotech + Art      The use of nanotechnology has had an impact on the medical field which is a connection we had previously made on the medicine and art fields. In the Part 4 Lecture, Dr. Gimzewski introduce the development of nanodrugs and its reaction to the human body. He stated that the first nanodrug sanctioned was Abraxane which targeted breast cancer. Nanomedicine is able to target small cells to target those damaging the tissues without harming any of the healthy cells. Nanomedicine is an interesting development because it is also used for imaging, diagnostics, and therapeutics.        Dr. Gimzewski furthered his lecture by presenting quantum dots. Quantum dots are nanoparticles that can be injected in cells to label specific biomolecules. Quatue dots are also able to detect cancer in earlier stages because it is able to target smaller cells. On the other hand, MRIs are able to detect the tumors...
Read more

Event 3

Image
       Last week, I attended Mark Cohen's presentation on the Art and Brain concept we learned in class. I was intrigued by his presentation because he starts to discuss the brain specifically the depictions shown in MRI's. I was gravitated into this presentation because Professor Vesna mentioned the "Octopus Brainstorming" so I wanted to figure out what exactly this was. His work was centered on a philosophical viewpoint in determining how the brain plays a role as a detector.  MRI scan      Cohen starts his presentation by comparing the brain as a detector but towards one's beliefs. He states how an MRI can show signals in which people tend to believe things or disbelieve what is said. This is not  100% accurate but it is an interesting experiment. As a Political Science major, I would be interested how the belief detector will react to political beliefs and how this can be a political use for a ...
Read more