Week 6: Biotech and Art

Over the last decade, we have seen an impressive growth in bio-art, artistic work inspired and created with bio-technology. Genetic modified food, animal experimentation and hybrid between species are very common nowadays. Arts collaborate with scientists, learn biology, and use biological tools to create artwork in hope to provoke, transgress, or re-design people's understanding of life. Bio art has created an entirely new perspective to look at biological research. It also allows artists to explore matters of scientific consequence in a creative way. However, it also sparks much ethical concerns related to animal rights and the ethical implications of art created.

Examples of bio art:

http://www.sito.org/id/bio/bio23.jpg

Joe Davis is the symbolic figure of bio art, who uses genes and genomes extensively to create innovative artworks. His work includes microscope that generate an acoustic signature for living cells and test of E-coli's response to Jazz and other sounds. There is also a particularly interesting experiment that implanted glowing jellyfish genes into rabbit and mice to make them glow green. SymbioticA is a milestone in bio art development. It is a permanent space established for artists to work in science lab. Its most important project includes "fish and chips": a robotics arm run by goldfish neurons, brainer anomaly complex and blood wars. 

Robotic artist:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/artists-blending-biotechnology-art/

Other interesting bio art projects include "bulletproof skin", which reinforced lab-grown human skin with spider silk. The modified skin was able to resist low-caliber bullets! This project was carried out to show that safety was relative and inspire conversations about the types of safety that benefit people. Although no one would actually turn their skin into "bulletproof" one, this project has successfully raised public attention about genetic modification and its implications on human beings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6S4fMOxuyE&feature=youtu.be

Other fascinating products of genetic modification include Petunia Circadia, a flower which is engineered to change color during the day. It is created as a response to concerns over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to demonstrate that GMOs are harmless and can be good for people. 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hu4y7

However, while we hail for the development of bio art and how it helps us understand controversial scientific issues, we should not overlook the ethical issues related to the practice of bio art. For example, professor Vesna talks about a famous experiment that modifies the wing pattern of a live butterfly but ends up leaving holes in the wings. This has not only caused horror in witness but also cautions future bio-artists to pay special attentions to the safety and handling of the experimental animals. Nonetheless, it is heart-warming to see that most artists like Kathy High demonstrate empathy to animals (in her case, rats) used in experiments. That should definitely be a moral standard to be carried out in future experiments.

Kathy High: embrace experimental animals:

http://kathyhigh.com/pix/embracing2/13.jpg

Sources:

Aristarkhova, Irina. "Hosting the animal: the art of Kathy High." Journal of Aesthetics & Culture 2 (2010).

Delgado, Rick. "How Artists Are Blending Biotechnology And Art."MakeUseOf. N.p., 08 May 2015. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/artists-blending-biotechnology-art/>.

Kaye, Randi. "New Technology: 'Bulletproof' Skin." YouTube. CNN, 30 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6S4fMOxuyE&feature=youtu.be>.

Kelty, Christopher. "Outlaw, hackers, victorian amateurs: diagnosing public participation in the life sciences today." Jcom 9.1 (2010).

Levy, Ellen K. "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications." (2007).

Vesna, Victoria, narr. “BioTech Art Lectures Part II.” N.p., . web. 5 Nov 2012.

Zurr, Ionat, and Oron Catts. "The ethical claims of Bio-Art: killing the other or self-Cannibalism?." Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art 5.1 (2003): 167-188.

Zwart, H. A. E. "Bio-art as a bio-ethical experiment." (2012).