BioTech + Art

          Starting from genetically modified foods to animal testing to the creation of hybrids between species, it is therefore no surprise why this week's topic on biotechnology happens to be the most controversial among society. As Professor Vesna indicates in her "Introduction to Biotech" lecture video, there are many pros and cons to this topic (Biotech Intro). Turning to this week's unit, I was surprised to find out that artists have been entering labs and working with living organisms, tissues, and bacteria (what has become known as BioArt), and prompting attention to many of the issues that biotechnology brings to the forefront (Biotech Intro).

https://fineartamerica.com/art/biotechnology

          An example of one artist entering the lab is Joe Davis. By working alongside scientists to teach him how to synthesize DNA and assert it to genomes of living bacteria, allowed Davis to come up with the Audio Microscope, allowing you to hear living cells (Biotechnology and Art: Part I). Davis also went a step further with these experiments by looking at how different sounds had an impact on bacteria like e-coli (Biotechnology and Art: Part I). This goes to show that combining the arts and sciences does produce some interesting results. 

http://www.thegatesofparadise.com/joe_davis.htm

          
          Among the controversy of genetically-modified animals and the ethical dilemma that follows, Eduardo Kac's fluorescent rabbit "Alba" is a crucial example of the ethical concerns that surround the idea of using living organisms for artistic purposes. The rabbit "Alba" was a genetically engineered invention, where French scientists transferred a fluorescent protein from a species of fluorescent jellyfish into a fertilized rabbit egg cell that grew into Alba. According to Professor Vesna in her lecture video "Biotechnology and Art: Part I," the green fluorescent protein that was injected into Alba, also known as GFP, has been used by scientists to watch processes that before were invisible and could only be seen by opening up the body. Such processes include, monitoring the development of nerve cells and/or spread of cancer cells. However, this project was later claimed by Kac, which he labeled as "transgenic art," where natural or synthetic genes can be transferred to a living organism to create unique living beings (Biotechnology and Art: Part I). While animals are used as a means for coming up with new discoveries in the field of medicine, I definitely believe that it is unethical and unnecessary to use and manipulate animals for artistic purposes.

http://induced.info/?s=GFP+Bunny+2000++KAC

Sources:

Levy, Ellen K. "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications," in Context Providers, eds Victoria Vesna, Margot Lovejoy, and Chrisiane Paul (Bristol: Intellect Press, 2011). 

Vesna, Victoria. "Biotech Intro." YouTube, 26 Mar. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvp924_pbgc.  

Vesna, Victoria. "Biotechnology and Art: Part I." YouTube, 18 Sep. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=548&v=PaThVnA1kyg. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Biotechnology and Art: Part II." YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=MdSt-Hjyi2I. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Biotechnology and Art: Part III." YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=3EpD3np1S2g. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Biotechnology and Art: Part IV." YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&time_continue=2&v=2qSc72u9KhI. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Biotechnology and Art: Part V." YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=z7zHIdsFS3A.