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Ever since I could pick up a pencil or a paintbrush, I have been creating art as a way to decompress from stringent academic days or just stressful social situations. Art has never failed to be a stress reliever and, moreover, a way for me to sort out my emotions. Especially now, amid the stresses of studying biomedical engineering I find creating art such an amazing tool to unwind (as you can see, I really like dogs).
Recently though I have found that art can also carry immense power in the message it is sending in addition to its therapeutic properties. The impact art has on people emotionally is indescribable. Banksy is the textbook representation of the common saying, “A picture is worth 1000 words.” Using his street art and anonymity, he has immensely influenced the world’s political atmosphere. To me, his art constantly inspires me to keep creating pieces that challenge normalized perspectives and social constructs with my personal interpretations.
Another popular figure who has brought enlightenment to my once narrow perspective of art was the multi talented scientist, engineer, and artist, Leonardo Da Vinci. This man was brilliantly ahead of his time in all aspects.
The picture shown to the right is one of the countless hand sketched engineering concepts, Da Vinci ideated and archived in his collection of drafts now referred to as the “Codex Atlanticus.” The codex is public domain, so I implore you to search it and get inspired by this man’s amazing immortal fusion of art and engineering.
My award-winning interpretation of ”The Creation of Adam,” which I called ”The Creation of Atom,” is, so far, my favorite combination of engineering ideas with a well-known thought-provoking art piece by another brilliant scientist/artist, Michaelangelo.
After further researching Michelangelo’s entire painting, ”The Creation of Adam,” (and not just the beautiful symbolism of the creator reaching out to the created), I found some interesting underlying biological implications. Frank Lynn Meshberger, MD, explained that if you look at the painting closely, you can see that the fabric of the Creator’s robe is wrapped like the outside of the human brain. Meshburger iterates that Michelangelo integrated anatomical legitimacy by pointing out how the pons, medulla, and brain stem are clearly outlined in the painting.
Though the intention of my initial art piece was to replicate the emotional awe that encompasses creationism and to apply it to the advancement of biomedical technology, it was a wonderful surprise to find much deeper biological inferences from the original painting. All this to be said, art isn’t just an old canvas with paint marks on it hanging in some museum collecting dust. When done right, it is a powerful expression of deeper, personal introspection that resonates with like minds.
Image Sources: Ambrosiana, The Collector
Class of 2025, Biomedical Engineering
If you found this blog post interesting, you may consider reading “Unleashing Creativity and Innovation: My Journey as a Mentor and Judge at Howdy Hack” and “How a student organization aided my engineering education experience.”