Art and Medicine
An Essay on the links between art and medicine
Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.[1]The main feature is that it requires creativity and lateral thinking which provides people with different viewpoints and perspectives of particular situations and is very useful for effective problem solving. Medicine is the science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.[2] Its regard as a science means that it is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical world through observation and experiment.[3] At first glance, these two terms appear to be antonyms of one another. One which is expressive and the other which is regimented, however throughout this essay I explore how this is in fact not the case and how the study and practice of medicine relies on art.
An in-depth understanding of the human anatomy, is an area of knowledge required by all doctors. It enables them to link patient symptoms to possible diagnoses effectively. Anatomical drawings provide a visual representation of the aspects of the human body and help people understand it. Historically, medicine and art have been successfully intertwined, the development of medicine has also been dependent on art. Medical illustration for instruction first appeared in Hellenic Alexandria during the early 3rd century B.C. covering anatomy, surgery, obstetrics and plants that had medical properties. [4] Initially, anatomy was linked closely with science, culture and art, many of the anatomic drawings were amalgamations of these themes with the aim of simultaneously educating and entertaining the viewers. Some of which depicted cadavers as very much alive, full of character and eccentricity or contrastingly, dead. An example of this is pictured below.
This drawing [5] shows the subject as a young man emerging from the bushes on a hill. This background helps to add a feeling of anticipation and a sense of an important revelation being expressed. This could also be used to express the fact that the knowledge of the intricate structures that make up the human body were only just being discovered at the time that this drawing was created. The artist depicts the male subject’s outer bodily features in a very realist style which enables the viewer to be able to relate to the subject and clearly identify it as a human being. It also influences the viewers’ perception of the organs being exposed in this piece.
On one hand the organs being shown seem real and believable as they are part of what seems to be a very real human being, expressing emotions not dissimilar to those that the viewer experiences on a daily basis. The way that the subject averts his eyes from the gaze of the viewer and uses his skin to cover his torso, expresses a sense of shyness and timidity that many people would have experienced as well as showing a sense of modesty.
On the other hand, the organs being shown seem unbelievable and magical. This is because the use of surrealism is a prominent component of this piece. One is not able to lift up their skin and reveal their organs as depicted here which makes the organs being revealed seem fake and unreal to some extent. Deeper analysis shows that the subject is positioning his hands as a magician does, adding an awe-inspiring, magical, implausible dimension to this drawing. Whatever the interpretation, this drawing links the educational and artistic properties of anatomy, seamlessly, leaving the viewer to make their own conclusions as to what is real and what is not.
Specific aspects of practicing medicine can be described as art. An example of this is surgery which is defined as ‘the treatment of injuries or disorders of the body by incision or manipulation, especially with instruments’. [6] During the process leading up to surgery, often many imaging techniques are used to provide the surgeon and their team with an understanding of the condition they are dealing with, the pathology and how to go about rectifying the situation. These images themselves can be seen as art, they are visual representations of the body that tell a story, some of which make use of the different densities of aspects of the human body to create a detailed picture. Together they can be seen as art as each imaging technique enables to see the body slightly differently, examples of this include ultrasounds, which only show soft tissue and MRI scans which show a cross-section of the body part being scanned. The invasive aspect of performing a surgery is also very artistic. A subtle example of this is that surgeons create incisions in the body enabling them to retract the skin, exposing organs of different shapes, sizes textures and densities. Upon revealing the aspect of the body concerned, the surgeon must inspect it and uses different tools to operate on the patient, cutting, stitching and removing parts of organs or blood vessels for example. The intricate workings of the body are being altered here improving bodily function in many people and leaving a lasting impression on the recipient. The need for a delicate hand, manual dexterity, a sense of purpose and an understanding of the medium that is the human body, is not dissimilar to an artist molding his structure or drawing his subject in a medium of paint or pencil. A more obvious example lies within the subspecialty of Plastic Surgery. This variation of surgery is most concerned with the outward appearance of different parts of the human body examples of such surgeries include rhinoplasties (nose jobs) and breast reconstructions from cancer. These require very intricate stitching to produce minimal scarring and the reshaping of parts of the body to look more aesthetically pleasing and more natural.
For surgeons, some of the most artistic procedures are found in microsurgical techniques where tissue is transferred from one part of the body to another based on establishing a new blood supply. This allows the surgeon to re-establish tissue in another location that can be rebuilt into something else. Here, the lines marking the division of medicine as art or science are increasingly blurred. Such procedures not only require extensive scientific understanding of anatomy and blood supply, but also are dependent on the surgeon being able to reshape one kind of bone into another. In the example of a tumour being removed from the mouth, a leg bone can be transplanted and carved into a mandible, for which an artistic perspective is paramount.
If doctors are criticized, it is often not for their lack of knowledge, but for a lack of insensitivity and for ignoring or being oblivious to the emotional distress affecting their patients. Mahajan (2006) warns doctors against allowing the science behind medicine to inhibit their humanity and sense of empathy. If medicine is viewed purely as a science, then the importance of successful patient-doctor communication and interaction is ignored. A knowledge of and ability to engage with fine art in particular, being able to deduce possible interpretations of artwork and be aware of the underlying emotional connotations being emphasised in the piece can help within the practice of medicine. This is because it makes a person more receptive to the people and emotions present around them, makes them more likely to notice intricate details regarding a person’s physical, mental and emotional state which can be crucial in correctly diagnosing a patient and providing the most suitable treatment overall for that patient. Also, the ability to analyse artwork can prove to be a great skill for doctors. This is because in the analysis of other subjects such as chemistry, the conclusions drawn are mostly based on fact that has been proven or a theory that is being developed, whereas art analysis draws on instinct, emotional response and the perception of a piece. Being able to look beyond the facts and particular list of symptoms to match a diagnosis with a patient can create a much needed patient-centered approach to medical dilemmas, focusing on the patient as a whole, seeing the bigger picture and then matching the patient with the diagnosis rather than the other way around. [7]
Though medicine relies on it, art can be its own form of psychotherapy involving the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, or modelling, used as a remedial or diagnostic activity.[8] The goal of this is to improve people’s mental health, specifically by reducing anxiety, helping to manage behaviour and addictions, allowing the client to explore their feelings and resolve emotional turmoil. Art therapists use their understanding of visual art in conjunction with counseling theories and techniques. It is widely practiced in hospitals, psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities, schools and other clinical and community settings and it is a prime example of how art can not only link with medicine but enhance it. [9]
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Sources 1. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=art+define 2. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=define+medicine 3. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=science+define 4. History, Present and Future of Medical Art http://www.vesaliusfabrica.com/en/related-reading/karger-gazette/medical-art-through-history.html 5. National Library of Medicine Tabulae Anatomicae: Venice, 1627. 6. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=define+surgery 7. Lisa Sanders: Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis (2009) 8. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=define+art+therapy 9. http://www.apexart.org/exhibitions/berlet.htm
