Art

Item Description

ARTIST:               Christian Voltz
TITLE:                 Greffe
MEDIUM:            Mixed media, 16” x 20”, unframed

This original artwork was created for Art on Science: 26 études an internattional portfolio featuring pictures by artists and words by scientists. This written commentary is by Philippe Lavalle, Biochimie/ biophysique at INSERN
 
More than 3000 years ago, during the reign of the Pharaohs, cardboard, leather and wood prostheses were already developed to reproduce a toe. In addition to an aesthetic role, it seems that these prostheses had a functional role to restore normal walking. Men have always been tempted to replace body parts that are failing, broken, amputated, or simply to restore physical abilities that, in the course of a lifetime, tend to diminish with age.

The maintenance of a “normal” body, that is, where all the organs and limbs are visibly intact, is a primary concern in light of the image we project to others. Then, functionality is probably the most important life parameter for those concerned: the patients who are ill, the “abnormal”, handicapped, hurt and suffering, the blind or deaf, or those who can’t breathe, or walk.

To maintain the five senses is essential. An altered sense of taste and smell which impedes the perception of food, disorders of sight, or a lack of touch or hearing isolates these victims. But will a hand prosthesis restore the sensation of touch one day? Will an orthopedic implant ever be able to feel the heat of the sun, transmit it to the whole body, make it sweat ? Can we hear better with cochlear implants than with our native ears?

Plants and animals have always been sources of materials to rebuild men. One example is chitosan, a component of the crab shell that is used to produce hydrogels in order to repair tissue. In the same way, alginate, a component derived from marine algae is the subject of many studies. It has taken humans over 3000 years to come full circle: the Pharaohs left fragments of wood or animal skins for their reconstruction, we now start from these same components, but use them on amolecular scale. From centimeter to nanometer, the primary objects are identical but a million times smaller, all this in 3000 years of history…

Teeth, bone, heart, lung,... everything is repaired or almost, by materials and / or grafts. But everything remains to be done, nothing is perfect and how far does it go? Can a healthy mind in a failing body ever become an
“improved” body in a failing spirit

Item Special Note

Free domestic shipping.

All artworks are 16” x 20”, unframed and will be shipped with a printed copy of the scientist’s text.

For further information about the portfolio, please visit our Art on Science: 26 études website: http://AS26project.com