MedTech and Art



            Medically correct representations of the human body are both important for doctors and artists alike. Over time, medical technology has developed such that it has provided a less invasive route to create accurate anatomical images of the human body.

An example of  a picture from Anatomy
During the Renaissance, which saw the rebirth of science and art in the Western World, accurate depictions of the body began being produced. The only means of producing them however was by slicing corpses, and the primary media for recording the these depictions was on paper. The most prolific example was Anatomy by Henry Gray in 1858, whose images were highly utilized by medical professionals at the time to understand the body and disease as well as artists of the time for anatomical representation. Another example of particularly invasive procedure for medical images was Joseph Jernigan, a murderer from Texas, who’s body was sliced up in 1993 used for digital upload.

The development of machines like X-Rays, CAT Scans, CT Scans, and MRI’s provide an alternative to the dissecting of a human body to produce accurate artistic representation of it. The leveraging of high frequency light in X-Rays allows structures like bones to be visible as if the body had been dissected completely. CAT Scans, CT Scans and MRI’s also provide unique views that can appear especially aesthetic and alive as Silvia Casini notes in her essay. She writes “The focus on the human body and the way it is represented by medical technologies, the interest in portraiture, and the awareness of the creative possibilities of medical-imaging techniques as artistic media are features common to the artists”.

An X-Ray image of the bones in a human hand


A time lapse of an MRI 
As technology continues to develop both the procedure involved to produce the imaging and the viewing of the imaging become more imaginative. For example, MRI’s can be viewed not only over a period of time to demonstrate movement, but also in three-dimensional, digital models. As virtual reality technology develops, patients can even view their bodies from the inside. The development of medical technologies is giving rise to endless possibilities.  









References
Vensa, V. (2012, April 21). Medicine pt1. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk

Vensa, V. (2012, April 21). Medicine pt2. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ

Drake, Richard; Vogl, A. Wayne; Mitchell, Adam W. M. Gray's Anatomy for Students E-Book London: Churchill Livingstone, 2009.

Gromala, Diane (2011, December 7). Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. Retrieved April 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=435&v=cRdarMz--Pw

Casini, Silvia; “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts.” Configurations. 2012. The Johns Hopkins University.


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