Dr. Vesna left us with an important concept this week as we
discussed Medicine, Technology and Art; medical technological advancements are
shifting our relationships with our bodies, our persons, and therefore the
concepts behind the human body and its interpretation into the arts. Because of this new understanding behind many
principles of human life and bodies, we are faced with a plethora of fresh
concepts and works.
The first thing that came to my mind as Dr. Vesna lectured
about the advancements in technologies and its effect on us was DNA
origami. As scientists began to
understand the interactions involved in nucleotides and DNA structure due to
the different properties of adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine, they were
able to manipulate the strands into various structures. This is visualized below and shows how technologies,
which were developed for the betterment of human health, can be used to create
microscopic art that could have never been produced before. Additionally, it gives a rather mysterious
concept, the concept of genetic materials and their definition of the human
everything, a rather appealing and harmless public image.
Beyond just social concepts and public image, these
technologies have a huge potential for developing self-image and healthy
behavior. Dr. Wong at the University of
Columbia in New York uses personalized avatars of patients to influence the
behavior of his patients. For example,
people’s health behaviors (such as smoking, diet, or exercise) is evaluated and
a future age is personalized into an avatar.
These doppelganger images (see below) proved to deeply effect patients
and provide them with more motivation to change health habits.
Finally, I also explored hypothetical applications of
technology in society through the dystopian hypothetical future film A Clockwork Orange. In this movie, the main character Alex
DeLarge undergoes an experimental aversion therapy, similar to brainwashing, in
order to become less of a burden/danger to society.
While this ends up not working out for the main character in
the film, it does bring about the potential usage of technology to alleviate
society’s issues through directly targeting the dispositions of the troubled
youth. This gives a little more ominous
of a future then the other potential technologies mentioned throughout this
week’s lecture, however it shows that the many facets of technological
applications can be construed to differed mediums for art and societal
interpretation.
References:
A Clockwork Orange. USA: Stanley Kubrick, 1971. DVD.
Habitual Films,. 'Shock, Shock, Horror, Horror'. N.p., 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
Nature.com,. 'DNA Origami | Bio 2.0 | Learn Science At Scitable'. N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep0M2bOM9Tk.” Lecture. Medicine pt1 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.
Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/psjnQarHOqQ.” Lecture. Medicine pt2 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.
Wong, Virgil. “Art Exhibited in Galleries and Museums around the World.” Art. N.p., 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. <http://virgilwong.com/art/>.
Hi Jing Gong,
ReplyDeleteI liked the different examples you used to reflect the main ideas and concepts of this week's topic. I also wrote about a similar take on the idea that med+tech+art is becoming a vehicle of impact and more specifically healing, which is something you did as well by presenting us with information on the University of Columbia study in regards to changing poor habits. I am interested to see the use of DNA origami in real life applications as well. It looks very unique and visually appealing.
DNA, I agree is incredibly important to what we learned this week. As the building block of life, it’s similar to knowledge…as in, do we want to know everything about it? Is mankind ready for that power?
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is like a piece of art. The picture you added was really cool and I liked the visual aspect of that concept. Manipulating genetics is something that those who dissected bodies hundreds of years ago couldn’t even fathom but it’s more than a reality now.
Technology makes these realities happen and it’s technology behind the evolution of the body. As you said, “developing self-image and healthy behavior” is the goal for technology to have on the medical field. However, is manipulating the body to change habits with the aid of machines ethical?
You bring up a great point with the media too. What if in these movies like A Clockwork Orange or Jurassic Park, they actually worked out? What if the dinosaurs never attacked and what if in Clockwork Orange, it does alleviate the flaws? As a society we create these ethical standards for a reason but what if they weren’t there or the media didn’t follow suit? I thoroughly wonder what critics would think.
Great post overall