The body as an object of medical research

The body as an object of medical research

In the early years of Photography the medium was initially being used as an instrument of scientific exploration and recording. It could be used as a means of classification such as identifying certain illnesses to portraying commonalities between the features that criminals were seen to have in those days.

Francis Galton  

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/francisgalton.aspx

Eugenicist such as Francis Galton was fascinated by the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin. He carried out his own investigations in human heredity and biological variation. Galton’s work in this area would form the basis of the philosophy he named eugenics in 1883. Galton developed a lifelong interest in studying variations in human ability. He was convinced that these variations were a product of biological inheritance, rather than simply a matter of upbringing.

Galton devoted many years of study to the use of "Composite Portraiture He was especially interested in the use of these composites to test if there was a recognizable criminal type revealed by them. This technique of composite portraiture was also used to identify the sick by appearance of a ‘sick type’. This idea of almost stereotyping and categorising people is from appearance goes fall far from the ideas of hybridity and plurality we see today in a postmodern society.

John lamprey

books.google.co.uk/books

Imperialist notions of European superiority and global control nourished the interest in collecting and classifying information about human bodies. The lack of standardization in anthropological photography led to scientists such as john lamprey to create systems by humans could be photographed for observation and comparisons. 

Photography from john lamprey shows a Malayan male being photographed as a means of classification. At the time Victorians thought of these people as half way between animals and human which reflected the ideologies of the times. Photographers sought to highlight the cultural differences.

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/human-body-upgrades/

                                            

 In the more modern times photographic equipment has advanced vastly allowing using to delve further than ever before going to microscopic levels of the human body. In many hospitals photography helps with such things as making or ruling out a diagnosis, being part of medical records and teaching purposes.

Nuclear imaging examines "aching bones" for fractures or diseases like leukemia, lymphoma, and other cancers. Patients are injected with a radioactive tracer which enters the bloodstream and passes in a matter of hours into the bones where it can be imaged by a "gamma camera." The resulting images reveal abnormalities in bones which are marked by non-uniform distribution of the tracer. 

http://barrylategan.com/

Barry Lategan is one of the country’s most renowned and influential photographers. Probably best known for his early discovery and portraits of Twiggy – two of which are exhibited in the V&A Museum – Barry has photographed some of the most notable celebrities of the past forty years. His career as a fashion photographer has also seen much of his work make it to the pages and front covers of international editions of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and he won the Halina award for the 1986 Pirelli calendar. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/seeing-ourselves_n_1332228.html#s765184

The exhibition "Seeing Ourselves: The Science and Art of Diagnostic Medical Imaging" shows that art and science are two means of making images. The collection features medical imaging modalities and contemporary artworks that, oftentimes, don't look all that different.

The show is curated by physicians Koan Jeff Baysa and Caitlin Hardy, who gathered work from 60 international artists all working in a variety of media. The works on display demonstrate the importance of sharing of institutional knowledge while also examining the advantages of viewing this information from an aesthetic standpoint.

Recent technology has brought on huge breakthroughs in medical imaging -- images of the human body created for clinical investigations. These advancements have enhanced our knowledge of our physical selves, but it also intensifies our view of ourselves.