During a talk by Caroline Erolin, she spoke about the historical and contemporary aspect of medical art. It was interesting to find out the differences between art as a social depiction or commentary, versus the illustration and and reenactment for medicinal purposes. At the time of medieval astrology, “Astrologers believed that the movements of the stars influenced numerous things on earth, from the weather and the growth of crops to the personalities of new born babies and the inner workings of the human body.” (British Library). These doctors carried special calendars to check the positions of the stars before making a diagnosis. (British Library)

Other medical arts include the diagram for Chinese acupuncture.

Leonardo da Vinci in was well known in the renaissance era as a anatomist as well as artist, engineer and architect. His drawings at the time were considered a huge step in accuracy. His work is both scientifically correct and aesthetically pleasing.

Vesalius was another anatomist and was more famously known for his medical illustration Fabrica.

A lot of people think that there is a great barrier between art and science, but in reality, some of the finest artists have been working with scientists and the collaboration has been there since the renaissance era (14th century – 17th century). Vesalius believed that in order to truly understand the human body, students must  not rely solely on the teachings of elders, and should explore for themselves. “The only bodies legally available for dissection were those of executed criminals. Vesalius seized every opportunity he could to gather specimens. One day, he found on a country road a poor soul among many others who had been burned at the stake, and whose remains were in a condition ideal for study.” (University of Rochester Medical centre, 2013). The determination that drove Vesalius to encourage his students to discover for themselves earned Vesalius the name of “Father of Modern Anatomy”.

The level of intricacy of the human body grew and grew as centuries past, to the famous Gray’s Anatomy’s that we all know.

It is amazing to see how medical education has gone from the basic woodcuts to rough sketches, and now there is hyper realistic human bodies produced on Photoshop. There is even an app for cystic fibrosis, where it helps patients practice their everyday exercise regime so that they “adhere to their treatment”.(Cystic.Fibrosis.org, 2013)

There was another cystic fibrosis app created by one of the students from University of Dundee, Mark Alexander Roughley (Alumni DJCAD, 2010), but this app was more for patients understanding what cystic fibrosis actually is.

These examples of virtual anatomy reminded me of Gunther von Hagen’s Bodyworlds (Gunther von Hagen’s Bodyworlds, 2006-2013). Gunther von Hagen was a controversial German anatomist who is famous for preserving the inner body after death. He exhibits these bodies in different positions and the audience is able to view them in normal everyday activities.

I think it is interesting that we find this sort of exhibition controversial, because the donors willingly give their body up in the name of science. It is a little odd and ‘creepy’ to see the bodies in such natural poses when they are quite dead. When I heard of this form of medical art, it reminded me of a Dove advert, where a forensic artist, Gil Zamora, draws women by how they look like based on someone else’s description, and also by how they describe themselves.

The women portray themselves as uglier versions of themselves, but when other people were told to describe them, the contrast was immediate. We as humans have little self confidence in ourselves, but we still tell others they are beautiful. I like how because we live with ourselves everyday and are used to the ‘dull, drab view’, outsiders can give us a more realistic version of ourselves.  Image is everything I guess.

 

References

British Library, Medieval Astrology (12th century – 13th century), http://www.bl.uk/learning/artimages/bodies/astrology/astrologyhome.html (Accessed 29 November 2013)

University of Rochester Medical Centre, Health Encyclopedia, Andreas Vesalius, Father of Modern Anatomy, 2013, http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=1021 (Accessed 29 November 2013)

Cystic Fibros is important, Judges blown away by cystic fibrosis app, 2013, https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/news/latest-news/judges-blown-away-by-cystic-fibrosis-care-app.aspx (Accessed 29 November 2013)

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Msc Medical Art – Alumni (Mark Alexander Roughley), (2012-2013), http://www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/programmes/postgraduate/mscmedicalart/alumni/ (Accessed 29 November 2013)

Gunther von Hagen’s Bodyworlds, The original exhibition of real human bodies, Mission and Objectives, (2006-2013), http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/institute_for_plastination/mission_objectives.html (Accessed 29 November 2013)