This week something completely different; dental art.
There may not appear to be a direct dental technology connection, but there is. Technology and the Internet allow us to find, collect and then display a collection in a manner that simply would not have been possible BC (before computer). It is a simple yet powerful example of the magic of digital technology.
Dentistry is not exactly a common theme in the traditional fine arts of painting and sculpture. Yet with the help of Google we can find many examples of dental art. I have collected these and started a project through various Internet and social media outlets to make them readily available.
Every Wednesday a new Dental Art image is published on the Emmott on Technology Blog and other online publications then linked to Facebook. So far almost fifty images have been added to the collection. All the published images are them archived as a Pinterest board.
Needless to say art is subjective, not easily defined and subject to changing times. However just to get started let’s agree that art is more than merely depiction. Art invokes emotion; it stirs thoughts and inner feelings that are deeper than the superficial look and feel of an object or person. For the Emmott on Technology Dental Art project I settled on this broad definition: “Dental art is anything that depicts teeth or dentistry in an interesting or artistic way.”
As a dentist, you know that the dental profession represents the noblest expression of the human spirit. Dentists spend years mastering a demanding profession in order to reduce suffering, enhance beauty and generally elevate the human condition. So naturally artists must depict dentists as kind, honorable and even heroic.
Yeah right, take a look:
You can find the original blog articles here. The Dental Art Pinterest board is here.
The images fall into four rather broad categories. Some are whimsical like the high heels covered in teeth, the cake baked to look like a denture or a tooth wearing a Santa hat for the Holidays. There are a few historical images from medieval or renaissance times showing dentists at work. Some art pieces are actually designed for dentists. This includes paintings and sculptures for the dental office, lips and smiles for marketing, as well as some interesting historical dentures and instruments with intricate designs. The fourth category could be called serious contemporary art.
Some of the contemporary pieces are whimsical, like the Salvador Dali Ruby Lips and Pearl Teeth or the giant molar sculptures. However, many of the dental art images have a dark, even evil, feel to them. Some are blatant with dripping blood. Others have a more subtle feel of pain and desperation about them.
I do not particularly like the image of dentistry as dark and painful. Yet when artists choose to depict the emotions they feel about dentistry that is what comes out. It is wise to recognize that is in fact a part of who we are and deal with it realistically.
Serious people can debate whether television is art, yet there is no more obvious example of how dentists are portrayed in popular media than on television. There has never been a hit TV show that featured a dentist as a primary character. On the other hand physicians, lawyers, teachers and other professionals are the heroes of countless shows. Dentists are never the heroes, when they are shown as characters on TV they are invariably the bumbling fool, the comic relief. Think Jerry on the Newhart show or Barry Farber on Friends.
You can use the Internet to take a Quiz on television dentists.
In films, once again dentists are most commonly the fool. The only exception is when they are the evil, sadistic bad guy. Remember Steve Martin in “Little Shop of Horrors” or Lawrence Olivier as the Nazi dentist in “Marathon Man.” If you don’t remember you can use the Internet and YouTube to watch Steve Martin do his thing.
Although it is presented as humor the fear, pain and desperation are clearly seen.
With just a little effort art can teach us much about the human condition and even about ourselves. People haven’t changed that much in the last five thousand years. On the other hand what has changed remarkably is how we can find, collect and distribute art. The future is coming and it will be amazing!