Week 4: The Human Body and Art- Where do we draw the line?

Gray's Anatomy has had an influential role
on anatomy and art

I had never considered the human body and its anatomic structure to be anything other than that—a complex living system that we constantly are a part of. However, on the contrary it appears that with further discovery and documentation of how the body works, through people such as Versailles and Gray, it provided the opportunity for artists like Orlan, Stellark, and Warwick to use the body as a medium for art – revealing our utmost fascination with the body itself [5].

The impact the human body has on art, and the unique ways we have come to capture and illustrate it is amazing. For example, Sergi Brosa is a popular cartoon artist whom uses his drawings to depict and capture the physiological and psychological effects that drugs have on the functioning of the human body.[3] In this way, he is able to convey an abstract concept through his drawings of the body. Milli Brown, a performance artist and painter is also using the body as an instrument for her artwork. She creates her paintings by fasting for several days, and then drinking her paint and vomiting it on to canvas.[2] This is a very extreme and somewhat disturbing example, but she is using the body to widen the possibilities and forms art can take.

Milli creating one of her art pieces

One of Sergi Brosa's depictions of the human
 body influenced by drugs

We have also been using the body for art in the instance of plastic surgery. It has been practiced for years by molding and forming the body into desired shapes and sizes—essentially creating a human sculpture. Orlan has taken the art of plastic surgery even further by creating performance pieces while she undergoes plastic surgery awake.[5] However, in regard to the historical Hippocratic oath, which urges for the treating of the sick, maintaining health, and keeping ethical considerations in mind,[4] it appears that when body and art come together, doctors are violating this oath by risking the life of the patient.[1] Not only is plastic surgery, a voluntary and most of the time unnecessary surgery, artists like Orlan are using it as a performance. In addition, artists are undergoing harmful scans (X-rays, MRI, CAT) voluntarily for their art, which is questionable by the Hippocratic oath as well. It seems as though we haven’t yet drawn the line when it comes to art and the human body and I wonder what that line actually is? 

Orlan undergoing plastic surgery

The Hippocratic Oath

References

[1] Edmonds, Alexander. "Is It Time to Ban Cosmetic Surgery?" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/04/opinion/la-oe-edmonds-plastic-surgery-20120104>.

[2]MailOnline, Bianca. "'It's like a Cleanse for Your Body and Mind': Vomit Painter Artist Throws up on Canvas to Create Jackson Pollock-style Splatter Paintings That Lady Gaga Loves ." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2549351/Its-like-cleanse-body-mind-Vomit-Painter-throws-canvas-create-Jackson-Pollock-style-splatter-paintings-Lady-Gaga-loves.html>.

[3]"Sergi Brosa’s DRuGS." Street Anatomy RSS. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://streetanatomy.com/2015/02/02/sergi-brosas-drugs/>.

[4]Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>.

[5]Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine and Art: Part 2.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded>.

Week 3: Art and Robots

Viewing man as part of machine

Industrialization and the art of mass reproduction has played and will continue to play a large role in societies infatuation with robotics in the form of humanoids, cyborgs, and other types of robotic machinery. Ford’s assembly line and others like it brought about analogy of men as part of a machine, fueling the fascination and development of the art of robotics.[6]

Although the idea of a robot has many meanings and roles in society today, robots are prominent and have largely influenced the art of cinema (particularly science fiction and thrillers). In the movie Chappie, a thinking, feeling, humanized robot is introduced into a futuristic world with a mechanized robotic police force.[2] However, the conclusion of the movie reveals societies underlying fears and uncertainties about the future of robotics, when criminals trick Chappie and he starts committing brutal crimes, while the entire police force is shut down during a time of corruption.

Chappie the Robot with human emotions

However, art is influencing the creation of a physical variety of robotic creations outside of movies that are worth considering. The roles of engineer and artist are merging [3] creating objects like Matthias Dorfelt’s Robo Faber, a miniature robot that is actually a designer. Dorfelt created the robot to generate a time snapshot of his current creative thinking and practice, “inside of Robo Faber, frozen in time”.[1]

Robo Faber drawing

Drawings done by Robo Faber

Art has also lead to the creation of robots being used to help others appreciate and gain access to art. At the De Young, an Art Museum in San Francisco, there are now two mobile robots with flat screens strolling through the museum. The idea is, individuals who are sick or paralyzed and unable to come to the museum can still enjoy the museum through a web cam that the touring robot is connected to.[5] Check out how this works in the video!

Touring Robot at the De Young

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is also influencing robotics. Mari Velonaki created a project there where interactive robots roam the museum freely and respond differentially to visitors depending on their reactions. Fish and Bird are two empty wheelchair robots, meant to signify the absence of a person, that write each other and visitors love letters from installed printers.[4] See Fish and Bird in action here. These examples reveal the bidirectional nature of art and robotics influence and question the negative undertone of robots that is present in movies and society.

Fish and Bird Robots

References

 [1]Brooks, Katherine. "If The Future Of Art Is Robotics, At Least It Will Be Adorable." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/robo-faber_n_4269146.html>.

[2]Grush, Loren. "Why A Real CHAPPiE Robot Would Be More Of A Mystery Than A Friend." Popular Science. 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.popsci.com/does-film-chappie-illustrate-future-artificial-intelligence>.

[3]Kushara, Machiko. “Robotics MachikoKusahara 1.” Math + Art. 14 Apr. 2012. Web.

[4]Lim, Angelica. "What Roboticists Can Learn From Art, and What Artists Can Learn From Robots." IEE Spectrum. IEE Spectrum, 2 May 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/what-roboticists-can-learn-from-art>.

[5]"Robots Open up the World of Art." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 1 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/robots-open-up-the-world-of-art/>.

[6]Vesna,Victoria. “Lecutre Part 2.” Math + Art. 12 Oct. 2012. Web.

Event #1: Kathy High Manipulating Art and Living Systems Lecture

I attended the lecture by Kathy High, an extraordinary artist and curator, titled Manipulating Art and Living Systems.  Her work is largely influenced by biology and transgenics (the transfer of genes from one organism to another). As an artist her work is extremely relevant to our class topics and her lecture really allowed the concept of art and science to come alive for me, in a way very different from the ideas presented about the “Two Cultures”.

Semi Living Worry Dolls made of living cells once
used for studies 

She began the lecture by discussing artists and scientists that have influenced her work, many of which highlighted the collaboration of science, art, and mathematics. One of these influential individuals is the artist and scientist Koen Vanmechelen who is crossbreeding chicken species in order to go backwards to the ancestor of all chickens. His scientific work is displayed in an art gallery in the form of live chickens.  Another influential project for High is the Semi Living Worry Dolls in which dolls were created and displayed with living cells that would otherwise be discarded after research. In both cases biology is being used to create and inform art.

Kathy High and a transgenic rat

Kathy High’s own projects further demonstrated collaboration of the two cultures. A current project she is working on was inspired by transgenic research rats that she believed were rather unhappy in their environment. After researching the matter, she found evidence that rats have an ultrasonic giggle when tickled, and she decided to create an ultrasonic symphony of rat giggles, primarily for the purpose of rats but that can also be downgraded for human ears. This work required collaboration with composers, ultrasonic specialists, and biologists.

Kathy High working with the blood samples 

She also blends the worlds of art and science through her Blood Wars project in which she creates a beautiful aesthetic moving picture by taking samples of WBC from various volunteers and having their blood compete under an incubated microscope. It was mesmerizing and beautiful to watch, almost allowing me to forget about the large scientific basis of this artwork. Altogether this was an extremely enlightening experience that allowed me to hear first hand how easily the art and science worlds are able to collide in practice. 

Me and two of Professor Vesna's students,
one of whom introduced Kathy High at the beginning 
of the lecture 
(Proof of my attendance)