VOLUME 2 NO.2 JUNE-AUGUST 2001

CARDIOVASCULAR    
   NEWS

  IN CONTEXT
 PERSPECTIVE
 REVIEW
 ORIGINAL ARTICLE
 CASE REPORTS
 A PICTURE IS WORTH
   A THOUSAND WORDS
 HISTORY OF MEDICINE
 ART & MEDICINE
 SPECIAL SECTION
 QATAR HEART PAGE
 LETTERS
 FILLER
 EDITOR
 
 

ART AND MEDICINE

The Operating Room (1994)

Jose S. Perez (1929 - )
Oil on Canvas, 24" x 30", 61.5cm x 77cm)

The above painting is an amusing social commentary of modern medical practice.
The artist’s irreverent rendition of the modern operating room resembles an auto repair shop, a tongue-in-cheek representation of the spectacular advances in medical technology that have allowed physicians to repair and replace body parts.
The painter is obviously mocking the medical profession for extending life indefinitely by replacing various organs, just like restoring antique cars.
An interesting feature of the painting is the disproportionately large body of the patient in comparison to the dwarf-like size of the surgeons, perhaps to symbolize the complexity of the human body.
Laughter is not always warm, affectionate, and merry – it can be sharp and subversive.
Its literary and artistic expression is called satire, the objective being to ridicule and expose human foolishness and frailty in all its guises:
vanity, hypocrisy, pedantry, idolatry, bigotry, or sentimentality and to effect reform through such exposure.
Sigmund Freud argued that satire constituted a form of not very-concealed aggression, which he called “hostile wit.
” Perez’ satirical art however, is gentle and refreshing.
Targets of satire have been the learned professions:
the clergy, lawyers, and doctors. Since ancient times, doctors faced crucial questions of trust since they were involved in all sorts of intimate personal crises, from birth, to illness, to death.
Therefore, it was and is essential that doctors be trustworthy with up-to-date medical knowledge.


   

 


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