Art, Science + Technology
DMA9 Fall 2007, Section BArchive for November 13, 2007
week6 Plastic surgery
During lecture, an artist named Orlan was discussed. She is an artist from France that modifies her body with plastic surgery. I believe it was mentioned that she broad casted her surgery as part of her art project, besides modifying her body. I thought this was interesting and looked deeper into this. It turns out that she does record her surgery, and is actually awake through the whole thing. The surgeons are actually operating on her while she is talking to the camera on a microphone. She placed only on local anesthetic. I still feel very uncomfortable when a dentist injects some kind of anesthetic and is cleaning out my cavities. She also “decorates” the operating room. In a picture of her that I discovered, her lip was being operated on, and next to her head was a bushel of grapes.
Orlan’s art is not just the alteration of her body. She wants to bring up the controversy of plastic surgery and the implication of surgery to women. She calls it Carnal art, and it is described as feminist. She is not against plastic surgery, but brings up the ethical issues imposed by new technical advancements in biological modification. I think what she does it very interesting, but I don’t think I have the stomach to watch her go through a surgery.
Links:
http://www.film-orlan-carnal-art.com/Synop.eng.html
http://www.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ecook/courses/eng114em/surgeries.htm
http://www.digibodies.org/online/orlan.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/localanethestic
Week #6: Cryonics and Plastic Surgery
Cryonics, a leap into the future?
Cryonics is basically the idea of freezing a person in order to perverse the body for various reasons, such as medical, and to unfreeze the body at a later date. One application of it is to freeze people with terminal illnesses that don’t have a cure yet and then bring them back when a cure develops. Another application is for people to past time without, in a sense, aging in order to live in the future. Such an idea is popular in movies and television programs, particular in the sci-fi genre. In television, there is Futurama, an animated sitcom. It has a plot premise where the main character, Fry, gets accidentally frozen only to be reawakened one millennium later. There is also a Twilight Zone episode where a gang of robbers stole gold, and they decide to use cryonics to go to the future in order to spend it risk free, though in the future gold is useless. In movies, there are movies like in Austin Powers where cryonics is used for the main character to go into the future. Cryonics is a great way for authors and writers to use in order to link the present to the future.
In reality, cryonics is not always how movies, TV shows, or even literature portray it to be. Preserving a body via cryonics is possible, but reversing it is not currently feasible. There are also other issues to consider with cryonics. The body would have to be frozen with as little damage to the tissues and cells as possible. Moreover, there are the questions regarding how being frozen will affect the brain and its memories. It is quite possible that there may be some brain damage or memory losses. Also, the body may still degrade while being frozen as time passes. But, technological advances may solve those problems. The only other question to consider is what the future will bring.
Plastic Surgery in TV
As advances make it more affordable and less risky, plastic surgery has become more main stream in the American culture. Many popular stars have gotten plastic surgery, such as Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson’s breast augmentation. Studio productions have capitalized on the mysticisms surrounding plastic surgery by giving viewers actual footage of the surgery process or fictionalized ones. There are many make over reality television shows that take real life people and transform them into star looking people. There are also other shows such as Nip/Tuck that dramatize plastic surgery in order to entertain viewers.
Although cosmetic plastic surgery gains more media attentions, there is also reconstructive plastic surgery that is used to help people. Reconstructive surgery helps rebuild any damage of the body, even in the face. It helps people who suffered from physical trauma or a rare disease to look and feel more normal. So, there are good sides to plastic surgery than the stereotypical artificialness.
http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/Game/BigIdeas/Images/cryochamber.jpg
http://www.tvsquad.com/media/2006/06/futurama-spacepilot3000-2.jpg
http://screen-savers.yardhost.ru/p/93/images/austin-powers-international-man-of-mystery.jpg
The Human Genome
Human Genome
The Human Genome Project was developed by the U.S. government in order to discover more about the human genome, which is the hereditary information of an organism. The human genome is made up of 24 pairs of chromosomes, including 22 autosomal chromosomes and the 2 sex determining chromosomes. The goals of the government were to “identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, store this information in databases, improve tools for data analysis, transfer related technologies to the private sector, address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.” The Human Genome project brought about many technological advances, but also many ethical disputes.
All the advancements made with the human genome have made gene therapy possible. Gene therapy is the insertion of genes into a person’s genome to combat disease. Scientists are trying to eliminate disease causing genes and replacing them with healthy ones. Right now, gene therapy is still experimental, and it has not proven to be very successful. Gene therapy is not very effective for genetic diseases, but recently breakthroughs have been made. In London, a team of scientists used gene therapy to try and treat blindness. The procedure has proven effective in dogs, but this is the first time it has been used for humans. Normal copies of cells are inserted into the retina using a virus or vector. The scientists don’t know whether the procedure has been successful, but there have been no complications so far.
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL016653620070501?pageNumber=1
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/project/about.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_genome
http://www.nature.com/nature/supplements/collections/humangenome/chromosomes/1.html
Art & Science: Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgery, in my opinion, definitely stands for, especially in our modern age of technology, a prime example of art and science/ technology. Using “surgical and nonsurgical techniques to change the appearance and function of a person’s body”, is certainly a subject that sparked interest. Monday’s lecture, when we were first introduced to this subject, I was a quite skeptical about how plastic surgery was going to relate to art, science and technology. I understood the scientific and technological portion right off the bat; it is somewhat obvious, but art? Plastic surgery is definitely an art form.
Plastic surgery is art; but rather than the stereotypical form of art, consisting of painting on a cotton canvas, plastic surgery uses the human body as a canvas. Using science and technology, plastic surgeons/ doctors are able to create art on the human face/ body. Therefore, in their own right, doctors are in fact artists. Although not usually perceived as artists, especially in our school, considering the supposed contrast between north and south campus, plastic surgery alters the non- artistic perception of doctors. Surgeons alter the human appearance through careful surgical procedures. Although the results are quite controversial in our society, they are without a doubt an art form. Michael Jackson’s face, for example, is a very complex art piece in itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery
http://rlbatesmd.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-is-plastic-surgery.html
Plastic Surgery
Plastic Surgery – Science or Art?
Plastic surgery, and many other types of surgery such as orthopedic, is one type of art that is completely dictated by science. It’s one of those things than cannot be done without a vast knowledge of both of the disciplines. It is unlike playing something like an electric guitar. You don’t have to know anything about electricity to become an amazing player. However, like plastic surgery, to demonstrate excellence, one must master both the scientific and artistic aspects. Much like I wouldn’t want a plastic surgeon without creativity to slice into my face, I wouldn’t want a musician without creativity shred on his guitar.
What is unfortunate about plastic surgery is the fact that the media portrays it as a sleazy form of medicine. However, no prejudice starts without good reason. Plastic surgery, once viewed as a revolutionary blend of science and art, has at its name tarnished by shows like Nip/Tuck. One must stand back and view something as it really is, without the stigma caused by media.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery
http://www.surgery.org/
https://www.abplsurg.org/ModDefault.aspx
http://www.surgery.ucla.edu/plastic/cos_face.shtml
plastic surgery…or liposuction?
Which one of the above would you choose? what about both… combined into a single technique?
Some people just aren’t satisfied with their bodies. Personally, I believe everyone to be perfect and made in a fashion for a reason, but if a person is not satisfied with their “sculpture,” a new technique is out. we call it “liposculpturing”
With liposculpture, people can suck out fat in their bellies to form a prominent six-pack, boost someone’s rather flat rear end, and remove the fat around ankles, knees, and practically every part of the body that desires to be changed. In some cases, fat cells can be added to a specific part of the body to make a muscle more prominent.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=1796686
http://www.wjactv.com/health/2635069/detail.html
W6: Plastic and Genomes
Plastic surgery has typically been associated with physically beauty and is often considered superficial. Some people look down upon those who buy themselves a “new nose” or “new breasts”. However, there are certain cases where plastic surgery is not for enhancing one’s physical attributes. Plastic surgery is a medical specialization “that uses a number of surgical and nonsurgical techniques to change the appearance and function of a person’s body.” Considering how every procedure needs to be precise, plastic surgery is, in a sense, a form of art.
When the aesthetics of the surgery are the main purpose, then we call it cosmetic surgery. But plastic surgery also involves re-constructive operations which focus more on function. An example of cosmetic surgery is Michael Jackson. I don’t think I even need to comment on how much surgery he underwent. On the other hand, an example of a reconstructive plastic surgery is if a woman’s face is badly burned to the point where she feels so self-conscious about her appearance that she cannot interact with other people. In such a case, surgery can help her regain her self-esteem and live normally again.
An important thing that people tend to forget about plastic surgery is that it is not complications free. There is a risk of death or injury or some other bodily complication. The death of Kanye West’s mother highlights this issue. Reports state that she passed away during a cosmetic surgery. Dr. Ablaza, a plastic surgeon and co-author of the book Beauty and Balance says that “As a whole we’ve gotten more cavalier toward (cosmetic) surgery, It really is about beauty and balance. It’s not about these extreme makeovers and getting 10 things done at once because you want an instant makeover. Things are out of control. It’s not about being the tightest and biggest you can be.”
In regards to genomes and biological engineering, the process of altering DNA sparks a series of ethical considerations. The possibilities of biotech are vast and seemingly unlimited. But many people find that playing ‘god’ is wrong and should not be done. There are possibilities that biological engineering may cause problems. Scientists have not experimented or conducted enough studies to determine potentially harmful repercussions. However, there is no doubt that there a variety of benefits that arise from biotechnology. For example, DNA can be altered to cure hereditary diseases or decrease people’s biological inclinations towards something like cancer. Yet, a myriad of biological weapons can also be developed from our advances in biotech.
Plastic Surgery
Biotechnology
Death of Kanye West’s Mother News Article
