week four blog | susana esqueda, desma9
Wk4 Blog
This week’s topic of the imbrication of medical technology and art was really interesting to learn because it allowed me to reframe medicine and health through an artistic, healing lens. I have always struggled with health anxiety; the thought of health, medicine, hospitals, and the body itself has often been underwritten by sentiments of dread and uncertainty for me. Learning this week about how several artists have created art using medicine and the body was comforting for me; it allowed me to negotiate both health and art within the same safe space, and to intentionally recognize how art—an element of my life which has always brought me so much peace and clarity—can become entangled within aspects of medicine and health.
“What Is Health Anxiety and How Do I Know If I Have It?” Livi, Livi, 14 Nov. 2021, https://www.livi.co.uk/your-health/what-is-health-anxiety/.
After watching Professor Vesna’s lecture I found Orlan’s performance art rooted in plastic surgery so fascinating and provocative; her unique form of using her body as the medium of her art to comment on the trends of beauty—and the commodification of women—by integrating elements of plastic surgery was something I had never seen before. By taking the ephemeral “visions of beauty embodied by classical features of paintings” (Vesna 6:51) and sculpting them onto her face tangibly through plastic surgery, Orlan aimed “to disrupt the standards of beauty” (Artnet). Orlan uses the words “resculpting” and “reinvention” interchangeably, elucidating how her process of changing her body for the sake of art and social commentary is embedded within the imbrication of the body and identity (Leddy). This was so captivating to see, especially in light of the normalization of plastic surgery to enhance unrealistic beauty standards today.
Gonzalez, Luis Rafael Hidalgo. “Orlan and the ORLANOIDE.” Transcendence, 10 Apr. 2019, https://organicmachinecmp.home.blog/2019/04/10/orlan-and-the-orlanoide/.
Orlan’s work—and Professor Vesna’s commentary on the nuanced layers of medicine and art—made me think about my own experiences with medical technologies. I have been so fortunate to be able to have access to healthcare and medical technology, and it has definitely alleviated some worries within my life. As a kid, I was always getting sick and getting x-rays done (like most other kids with asthma). X-rays always made me so nervous and scared. Yet, this week I discovered Arie van’t Riet, an artist who uses x-rays to create beautiful artwork. His work “balances an artist’s intention with the intrinsic beauty of the subject matter” (Yuen) and it is simply captivating. It was a beautiful experience to be able to see how something that caused me so much turmoil as a kid can be transformed into a stunning image of life’s complexity. It was healing.
Hanssie. “Physicist Creates Beautiful and Unique Images Using x-Rays.” SLR Lounge, 29 Jan. 2014, https://www.slrlounge.com/physicist-creates-beautiful-unique-art-using-x-rays/.
Before I end this post, I wanted to take the space to provide some helpful affirmations for anyone out there who may also struggle with health anxiety: remember to trust your body. It knows how to protect you (Smith).
Reference List
Leddy, Siobhan. “At 70, Body Modification Artist Orlan Is Still Reinventing Herself.” Artsy, 7 Aug. 2017, https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-70-body-modification-artist-orlan-reinventing
“ORLAN.” Artnet.com, https://www.artnet.com/artists/orlan/.
Smith, Laura. “10 Health Anxiety Affirmations: Change Your Mindset.” The Good Body, 20 Apr. 2023, https://www.thegoodbody.com/health-anxiety-affirmations/.
Vesna, Victoria. “Human Body & Medical Technologies Part 3.” Lecture.
Yuen, Isaac, et al. “X-Ray Photography of Nature, by Arie Van't Riet.” Ekostories, 6 Jan. 2023, https://ekostories.com/2014/02/07/xray-art-arie-vant-riet/.
Images
Gonzalez, Luis Rafael Hidalgo. “Orlan and the ORLANOIDE.” Transcendence, 10 Apr. 2019, https://organicmachinecmp.home.blog/2019/04/10/orlan-and-the-orlanoide/.
Hanssie. “Physicist Creates Beautiful and Unique Images Using x-Rays.” SLR Lounge, 29 Jan. 2014, https://www.slrlounge.com/physicist-creates-beautiful-unique-art-using-x-rays/.
It's wonderful to hear how this topic allowed you to reframe medicine and health through an artistic and healing lens. It's fascinating to see how artists like Orlan and Arie van't Riet have used medical technologies to create thought-provoking and beautiful art. Their work challenges traditional notions of beauty and transforms medical technologies into something that can be both aesthetically pleasing and emotionally healing.
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