Biotechnology + Art

Image result for bio art
New forms of art throughout history have often been met with derision and scorn for not adhering to artistic or religious norms, but BioArt is perhaps the first to be challenged based on its ethics and morality. BioArt utilizes live tissue and living organisms to create works of art which literally live and die. This is primarily done through genetic manipulation; inserting genes into organisms which are modified to elicit specific traits. While this may sound more like science than art, it serves as a combination of the two that bridges the gap between the "two cultures" of art and science.

I was especially struck by Eduardo Kac's "GFP Bunny", and the ethical dilemma which the project presented. Inserting genes that create fluorescent cells into rabbits so that they glow green may seem bizarre and unnatural, but it's hard to argue that the rabbit's quality of life is endangered by this in any way. It's perceived "unnatural-ness" seems to be the only complaint against it. While I would definitely consider it more of a scientific project than an art project, and it seems that Kac gets credit which should go to the scientist behind the project, it opens up further ideas for biological art driven by gene modification, such as Orlan's "Organic Coat".

stelarc_stretchedskin
Perhaps a more "artistic" form of bioart is Stelarc's use of his own body as an artistic canvas. While surgically growing an ear on his arm and his "stretched skin" works can be understandably off-putting, one could argue it's a natural extension of all the art of the past. If painting and sculpture convey beauty through the human form, the use of biotech to create unprecedented artworks with the physical body is merely a logical "next step" for the art world. Since Stelarc uses his own body to convey the art, any ethical issues are immediately solved, and we can manipulate the human form to create beauty in ways that have never been tried before.

References:
Dayal, Geeta. “For Extreme Artist Stelarc, Body Mods Hint at Humans' Possible Future.”Wired, Conde Nast, 2 May 2012, www.wired.com/2012/05/stelarc-performance-art/.

“GFP BUNNY.” NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ENIGMA, www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor.

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

UCtelevision. “Animal Biotechnology.” YouTube, YouTube, 25 July 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=qCIvAuwaf-o.

“How Art and Science Fuse in Bio-Art.” CNN, Cable News Network, 7 Feb. 2017, www.cnn.com/style/article/bio-art-microbes-and-machines/index.html.

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