Week 6 BioTech + Art

  

Indeed the combination of biotech and art often spark ethical controversy especially on animal testing and genetic engineering. Eduardo Kac’s GFP Bunny Alba was genetically modified to glow green, Kac’s original vision was to produce “ongoing dialogue between professionals of several disciplines and the public on cultural and ethical implications of genetic engineering” (Kac 266), but activists claimed that the creation of Alba was a blatant abusive manipulation of the animal. This project also received many criticisms from scientists saying that the project is silly (Onion)..

http://www.ekac.org/albagreen.jpeg

Although animal engineering sparks debates concerning the social and cultural ethicality, the combination of art and plant biology faces relatively less controversy. For example, the use of fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens as natural color can be dated back from the Renaissance (Glaeser and Volk), and mediaeval artists used scale insects as lac dye on wood sculptures (Gross). Apart from biological dyes, Julie Arslanoglu from the Metropolitan Museum also used this idea to detect proteins in artworks to study protein specificity precisely (Gross).

http://www.aranzadi-zientziak.org/fileadmin/images/micologia/Eskaneatuak/09_digital/chlorociboria_aeruginascens_jml_090718001_5037281a.jpg

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Different from animal engineering and testing, biological uses for plants often receives less controversy and often depicts as art. Historically, artist and scientists incorporate living organisms in their work, and seek inspiration from the biology of many life forms. While many advocate groups believe that transgenics and genetic engineering are abominations of nature that need more stringent regulations (Kwieciński), artists hope to spark debates that raise the awareness of how modern technologies changes the way we live. While Kac wanted to bring out the differential treatment when it comes to animal engineering, he was ridiculed by the world for trying to combine biotechnology and animal in the art form. 

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British artist Mark Quinn, also seek inspiration in his own biology, he created a sculpture of his own head called “Self” by filling a mould with his own blood and freezing it, every five years Quinn will renew the sculpture and by doing this, he hopes to remind viewers of the natural process of aging and physical deterioration, and the fragility of existence. 

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I believe that life itself is a valid expressive medium, no matter human, plants or animals, their existence depicts the wonders that Earth creates. I think Quinn’s work of his self is a power portrait that has important implications; although technology has made human life easier, all life forms go through a necessary but inevitable cycle of life and death.

Works Cited

Fullerton, Elizabeth. "Young British Artist Hits Middle Age: Catching up with Marc Quinn." ARTnews, 12 May 2014. Web. 10 May 2015.

Glaeser, Jessie, and Tom Volk. "Chlorociboria Aeruginascens, the Green Stain Fungus." 1 July 2008. Web. 10 May 2015.

Gross, Mike. "Where Art and Biology Meet." Current Biology, 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 May 2015.

Kac, Eduardo. Telepresence and bio art. University of Michigan Press, 2005.

Kwieciński, Jakub. "Genetically modified abominations?." EMBO reports 10.11 (2009): 1187-1190.

Onion, Amanda. "Rabbit Gene-Spliced With Jellyfish Glows In The Dark." ABC News, 19 Sept. 2000. Web. 10 May 2015.