Week 4 - Art that Evokes an Inner Sensation

For centuries, many artists have been trying to create graphic pieces/installations to target certain sensations inside the viewers that are not normally felt. The purpose of pinpointing these unknown sensations is to make the viewer think, “What is this strange, unknown feeling inside?” and “Why am I feeling it?”
Many artists believe the best way to get their viewers feeling this unfamiliar pit in their stomach is to incorporate the human body into their artwork. Although the human body has been sculpted and painted for centuries, new technological advances have immensely helped artists get a better glimpse of the intricate inner working of the body.

(Figure 1 Female Thorax Cross-
Section by Lisa Nilsson)

Lisa Nilsson is one of many artists inspired by human anatomy that has benefited from these technological advances. Inspired by the Visible Human Project, Nilsson created paper sculptures depicting cross sections of the human body.  According to Nilsson’s TED talk, she states, “Through the push and the pull of the beautiful and the creepy, the work was serving as a means of connecting people to a greater familiarity with the internal landscape of the body.”

(Video Lisa Nilsson at TEDMED 2012)

(Figure 2 Orlan and her Plastic
Surgery Performance Art)

Also using the human body in her artwork is French performance artist Orlan, also mentioned by Professor Vesna in Lecture.  Orlan has undergone numerous plastic surgeries on her face and body to challenge the standards of beauty that society has set for women. She believes that “art must shock to justify itself”. According to NBC News, “Orlan’s work is graphic and bizarre, a mixture of the absurd and exotic... It’s an expression of the sublime and grotesque, eccentricities carved into human flesh and sculpted in living bone.”

(Figure 3 Diane Gromala and VR)

Another artist inspired by the body’s inner working is Diane Gromala, who successfully combined art, science, and technology to benefit patients with chronic pain. Gromala connected virtual reality, biofeedback, and mediation to enable her patients to focus inward, and ultimately achieve inner awareness. Despite being different from the artists who sculpt/paint the human body, Gromala’s work still evokes a type of inner responsiveness.

Although artists use countless technological methods to explore human anatomy for their art, most of them strive for the same goal: To make viewers aware of their confusing, unknown, and inner sensations.

Works Cited

Associated Press. "Artist's surgeries defy beauty standards." Associated Press (2004). NBC News. Web. 25 Oct 2013.

Figure 1. Nilsson, Lisa. Female Thorax. 2013. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://static.otherpeoplespixels.com/r1362684542/images/clear.gif>.

Figure 2. Heise, Axcel. Orlan. 2013. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.creative-mapping.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Opération-omniprésence-4.jpg>.

Figure 3. Simon Fraser University. Prof. Gromala demonstrates virtual meditation. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.fcat.sfu.ca/2009/11/25/virtual-reality/>.

Gromala , Diane, dir. TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. 2011. Film. 25 Oct 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdarMz--Pw>.

Nilsson, Lisa. Are you ready for a new slice of reality?. TEDMED, 2012. Film. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=7371>.

Orlan. Orlan - Carnal Art (2001) Documentary. 2011. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_66MGu0Oo>.

Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-4-view?module_item_id=970434>.