Week 4 Blog: Medicine, Technology, and Art

In this age of pop culture, everyone has heard of plastic surgeries that celebrities have done, such as Kylie Jenner and her lip injections (“Kylie Jenner Before Plastic Surgery”). This is a great example of how medicine, technology, and art come together. Just as makeup is a form of art and creativity, plastic surgery is as well. As the lecture mentioned, plastic surgery is used by celebrities to sculpt themselves and comment on society (Vesna). 

Fig. 1:  Kylie Jenner before and after plastic surgery

The particular lecture about plastic surgery allowed me to understand the collaboration between medicine, technology, and art. With Orlan’s art as an example, I was able to see how medicine and the intricacies of science with the help of advancing technology could be used to create beautiful things. Orlan uses her face as a canvas to comment on questions regarding beauty, self-image, and consent by integrating medicine, technology, and art together. She uses plastic surgery as medicine and technology to transform her face as the art (“Summary of Orlan”). 

Fig. 2: ORLAN Before, during and after the transformation

As artists understand the proportions, symmetry, and lights and shadows of the body, and medical practitioners understand human anatomy well, they could work in tandem to create art on a person (“The Science of Aesthetics: Understanding the Art and Medicine”). Through Orlan’s plastic surgery arts, she aimed to reinvent the mask she was born with, working against the standard of beauty (“ORLAN:’I walked a long way for women’”). With the help of medicine and technology, she was able to comment on society and empower women.

Fig. 3: ORLAN, photographed in front of her surgery-inspired self-portraits in 1999. Photograph: Joel Robine/AFP


Works Cited

Kline. “The Science of Aesthetics: Understanding the Art and Medicine.” The Science of Aesthetics: Understanding the Art and Medicine, BYU Open Learning Network, 1 Jan. 1970, open.byu.edu/medicine_beauty_art/the_science_of_aesthetics_understanding_the_art_and_medicine. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Sayej, Nadja. “ORLAN:’I Walked a Long Way for Women’.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Jan. 2016, amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/15/orlan-i-walked-a-long-way-for-women. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Storyadmin. “Kylie Jenner before Plastic Surgery.” Сelebshistory-Plastic Surgery and Celebrity Biographies, Height , Weight , Bios, 5 Apr. 2019, celebshistory.com/kylie-jenner-before-plastic-surgery. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

“Summary of ORLAN.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/orlan/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Vesna, Victoria. “Lecture Part 3”

Image Citations

Alexander, Gabriel. “Orlan: Before Transhumanism.” Medium, 18 Aug. 2018, medium.com/@gsealexander/orlan-before-transhumanism-44e214b4386c. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024. 

Storyadmin. “Kylie Jenner before Plastic Surgery.” Сelebshistory-Plastic Surgery and Celebrity Biographies, Height , Weight , Bios, 5 Apr. 2019, celebshistory.com/kylie-jenner-before-plastic-surgery. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024. 

The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/15/orlan-i-walked-a-long-way-for-women. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024. 

Comments

  1. Katherine McNamaraApril 25, 2024 at 9:45 AM

    Hi Gillian,
    I really loved your conversation about plastic surgery. As a society, there is a stigma against plastic surgery and altering your face (when it is not medically necessary). However, in lecture we discovered that plastic surgery can be used for art and it can be used to make people more confident. Everyone should be able to feel good in their own skin and be able to express themselves in whatever way they please.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Khalil MeansApril 26, 2024 at 1:08 PM

    Hi Gillian,
    I enjoyed your focus on plastic surgery due to its cultural relevance and prevalence, especially at a time when it's more accessible than ever. It's remarkable how these procedures have become almost commonplace in certain circles, reflecting not just individual desires for self-improvement but also broader societal attitudes towards beauty and image. I believe that ORLAN's work serves as a reminder of the ability of art to question conventions and elicit thought. She initiates a conversation about identity and the demands of conformity by fusing technology and medicine into her artistic expression.

    ReplyDelete

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