Event 3 Kathy HIgh exhibition

As a research scientist in the CNSI, I can't help but notice the number of "ArtSci" events taking place one floor below me. After the first few lectures of DEMSA 9, I realized that the ArtSci events are exploring what is popularized as the "third culture" or a cross between the arts and sciences. Essentially, the works in cutting edge biological and nanotechnology are utilized by artistically inspired scientists to work together with individuals from arts and humanities background to create scientific artwork with a deeper message than what art and science can deliver alone.

Kathy High is an established visual/media artist, independent curator, and educator. On May 18, I had the opportunity to visit her exhibition, which I consider the most interest exhibition that I attended for this class thus far.

According to Mick Lorusso, Kathy's inspiration comes from her own struggles with a chronic inflammatory bowel disease known as Crohn's disease, which affects almost one million Americans every year. The etiology of the disease stems from a variety of causes including imbalanced diet, stress, and mainly genetic and environmental factors. The artwork above portrays the large intestine and colon being colonized by plants and children playing, with the intention to convey the importance that healthy environmental factors and life styles.

On a similar note, Kathy further paints the picture of the entire GI tract in the context of happy teenagers sitting outside and enjoying nature to portray the same theme of healthy living. 

A more distinctive work of art, and field of familiarity - fecal transplant - particularly caught my attention. The field of gut microbiota transplant paved the way to how our medical society views the importance of natural flora within our intestine. In fact, microbes including bacteria within our body outnumbers our actual human cells by at least ten folds. More importantly, medical sciences have only begun to understand how the complex communities of bacteria within our intestines contribute to our overall immunology, physiology, and proneness to acquiring diseases such as Crohn's Disease. I believe artworks such as this is important for the public due to it's more extreme nature in its ability to capture attention, and thus raise awareness. Despite my major background in Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, I didn't learn about the importance of gut microbiota, and fecal transplant, until this year.

Nonetheless, It was a slight relief to find out that the fecal matter was made from porcelain. One particular note I wanted to point out was the inappropriate use of the rotavapor glass tube as the container as opposed to more suitable carriers such as a vial or test tube. 

Children is one of the more prevalent recurring themes in Kathy's work. I believe beyond the importance of emphasizing the medical aspects of diseases and what the field of microbiology entails, Kathy raises the point that the maintenance of health starts at an early age. Similar to early works of art above, Kathy continually emphasizes features of nature, young people, and plants/vegetables to convey the importance of gastrointestinal health.

While the term "art of medicine" is usually considered a figurative saying, I can confidently say that Kathy's work effectively brings medical awareness to the public through a medium that is on par with popular articles and scientific journals.

Thank Mick!

Other works by Kathy High (nudity discretion advised) can be found at: 

http://kathyhigh.com/project-embracing-animal.html

"Kathy High: Visual/media Artist, Independent Curator, Educator." Kathy High: Projects: Embracing Animal. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2015. <http://kathyhigh.com/project-embracing-animal.html>.