I will be honest, this unit was a little lost on me. I am unsure of the difference between what we talked about this week in compared to the last couple of weeks. There was one topic that was brought up this week (albeit very shortly) that has actually always interested me however: plastic surgery. Thus for this week's blog I would like to delve deeper into that topic. The above image is from the now cancelled show Nip/Tuck. The character shown, known as the Carver, was a serial killer/plastic surgeon who mutilated the faces of all his victims.
Plastic surgery is interesting because it has a contradicting nature in today's world. On the surface it is demonized and looked down upon. Yet there are so many subtle pressures that force people (mostly women) into it: the second a female celebrity starts showing any signs of aging she will be scrutinized by all the tabloids. Celebrities are worshiped in ways that make people want to spend money to look like them, like this girl who tried to be Pamela Anderson.
Korea is another interesting example because plastic surgery is actually a cultural norm. Young females are expected to get procedures done to give them an eyelid fold that fits with white definitions of beauty. In a way, it is the opposite of how we see it here. If you don't get it done, you're weird.
My question is, why is plastic surgery never considered a form of art? Artists are allowed to use any other canvas in the world to place their works, but shifting the human body at all is still (mostly) a taboo. Upon researching this I found an artist named Orlan who actually did just that. She got multiple plastic surgeries to represent many different things, such as famous women in paintings. Obviously she is considered very controversial but pushing the boundaries always raises questions. As technology increases what will our bodies' roles become in the world of art?
Sources:
"Art Exhibited in Museums and Galleries around the World." Virgil Wong. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://virgilwong.com/art/>.
"Contoversial Artist Orlan The Reincarnation of Saint-Orlan. | Creative Mapping- a Toolbox for Creatives." Creative Mapping a Toolbox for Creatives Controversial French Artist Orlan Is Perhaps Most Infamous for Using Her Own Body as a Tool for a Series of Performancesurgeries Known as The Reincarnation of SaintOrlan Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
Duca, Lauren. "Celebrity Plastic Surgery: 8 People Who Have Had Extreme Operations To Look Like Their Favorite Stars." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
"'Nip/Tuck': The Carver Unmasked!" EW.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://popwatch.ew.com/2005/12/21/niptuck_the_car/>.
Scherker, Amanda. "Disturbing Photo Shows South Korean Plastic Surgery For Permanent Smile?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
I agree with you Jordan that plastic surgery is an art form. I would argue that any modifications made to the body that changes the way we would would be considered an art work. This includes tattoos, plastic surgery, and even the extreme body modification. To me, these things are done mostly to be seen and maybe even to send a message. This is not much different from the traditional art works in a sense. Maybe breast enlargement isn't necessarily a great example of art, but I think it can be argued the above things I mentioned could be considered artwork (depending on the case).
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