This essay discusses the influence of a medical training on the art practice of one of the seminal thinkers and art practitioners of the 20th century, Brian O'Doherty. Using selected artworks like the 'Portrait of Marcel Duchamp' (1966) that uses an electrocardiographic tracing of the older artist's heart, it demonstrates this link. However, in this artist's hands, the work moves beyond this link to challenge a number of conventions within art itself.
Keywords: Art history; art; art theory; conceptual art; medicine.