Week 6: Biotechnology + Art

The introduction of using biotechnology to create new art forms has grown as technology has grown (UC Online, 2013). By manipulating forms of life and daily behaviors using biotechnology, the medium for art becomes much more expansive and refreshes creativity for artists and viewers alike.

In Eduardo Kac’s art pieces, he explores the intersection of biotechnology and art through transgenic art, and is particularly famous for his GFP bunny: a green-fluorescent bunny that was implanted with a gene from jellyfish (Kac, 2000). Alba, as Eduardo called her, became a pioneer for his transgenic artwork, exploring the fluidity between social contexts and artificial forms of life. His hope with the bunny was to stir conversation about private intricacies of life (genetic expression) and public perceptions of it (public/social opinion).

Projects like the GFP bunny intrigue me, but also lead me to question the ethics of biotechnology in art and the ethics of art in general. Art can be personal, exciting, and offensive – all at the same time. With all forms of science, there are a lot of unknowns and potential accidents; one example of this is in a product that was used to help remove unwanted weeds, which turned out to be helping the weed grow even stronger (“’Super weed’ taking strong hold in Utah”, 2009). Without controlling this weed, nearby marshes and nesting homes for birds would be destroyed. The offense of using biotechnology on life forms that are unpredictable can lead to undesired consequences.

While human creativity should not be limited (it prohibits artistic thought from progressing!), it is difficult to say that this new form of art is ethical if it affects lives. Genetic modification to existing lives (like the GFP bunny) blurs the line of rules for these new species, as described by Ellen K. Levy in her essay Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classification (Levy, 10). However, other initiatives to introduce biotechnology to art can lead to unconventional perspectives on life; Kathy High’s experiment “Blood Wars” examines the strength of individual blood cells and analyzes the medium that we survive off of: blood (Blood Wars). These unique approaches to art using biotechnology can lead to conversations about the future incorporation of science and art, two disciplines that have been proven to be fruitful time and time again.

Sources:

“About the Project.” Blood Wars, vampirestudygroup.com/bloodwars/about/.

“Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications,” Eds., M. Lovejoy, C. Paul, V. Vesna; Context Providers, 275-299, 2011, Intellect Press, Bristol and University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

“Genetic Engineering Boosts Energy Transport in Artificial Photosynthesis – Physics World.” Physics World, 25 Aug. 2017, physicsworld.com/a/genetic-engineering-boosts-energy-transport-in-artificial-photosynthesis/.

Kac, Eduardo. “GFP Bunny.” GFP BUNNY, 2000, www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html.

Online, UC. “5 Bioart pt1 1280x720.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Sept. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg.

Undesser, Ernst. “Super Weed, Palmer Amaranth: May Soon Not Be So Super.” AgFax Weed Solutions, 5 Apr. 2017, agfaxweedsolutions.com/2017/04/05/super-weed-palmer-amaranth-may-soon-not-super/.

Yeates, Ed. “'Super Weed' Taking Strong Hold in Utah.” KSL.com, 8 June 2009, www.ksl.com/article/6754314.