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>.