Week 6: BioTech + Art

The body is more than organs, it a product of culture and society

In my medical anthropology class, we often discuss the human body as an entity that is beyond a physical being. Medical anthropology goes beyond seeing health as primarily a biological condition by seeking to understand the social origins of disease, the cultural construction of symptoms and treatments, and the nature of interactions between society, culture, and biology.

The issues of self and agency that are so integral to medical anthropology also arise in the intersection of biotechnology and art. A component of medical anthropology is illness narratives: sufferers construct a story of the illness with a timeline. They affix blame and assign meaning to their maladies -- their bodies are a display of a poetic quest. For them, life is expressed through the challenges their physical beings endure. It is not initially a choice to experience the illness, but one that they adapt too. Life itself is a valid expressive medium.

Doctors instead see bodies as strictly physical beings

Orlan represents the other end of the spectrum. She intentionally alters the physical form of her body in order to enact meaning. She creates a harlequin coat, which is a composite organic coat with an assemblage of skin pieces made in vitro in a lab. She promotes hybridization, but it begs the question, who has ownership of the cells of the coat?

Harlequin Coat: http://images.vogue.it

The reading “meaning of participation: Outlaw Biology?” acknowledges the issue that there is no deciding body thus far of who controls how far this innovation goes. This is a new conversation because, as some critics see it, is a field of “playing God.” This is no longer an issue of just science, but rather cultural and religious. Life, Levy notes, is no longer easily classified.

Sources:

Uconlineprogram. "5 BioArt pt4." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 10 May 2017.

Kleinman, A., and A. Petryna. "Health: Anthropological Aspects." International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences(2001): 6495-499. Web.

Kleinman, Arthur. "Illness Meanings and Illness Behaviour." Illness Behavior(1986): 149-60. Web.

Kelty, Chris. "Meaning of participation: Outlaw Biology?" (n.d.): 1-8. Web. 09 May 2017.

Levy, Ellen K. "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications." (n.d.): 1-22. Web. 09 May 2017.

"Medical Anthropology." Medical Anthropology. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2017.

Smith, Joanne. "Human Body Anatomy." Pinterest. N.p., 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 10 May 2017.