Week 6: BioTech + Art


Before this week’s lecture I could not even fathom the type of organisms that have been and continue to be produced through Biotechnology and art. Genetics having a prominent role in the expression of art is a thought that would have never crossed my mind. Each of the artists from lecture had their own unique vision for the expression of their art. For example, the creation of Symbiotica in 2000 enabled “artists engage in various capacities in relation to artists being in science labs,” (Vesna, BioArt pt2).
Courtesy of: http://www.isea2013.org/events/semipermeable-plus/

There is some debate about whether artists’ using genetics and animals in Bioart is ethical or not. Because everybody is entitled to have an opinion on what is considered to be ethical, I therefore believe that there are some artists who have crossed the line in regards to the treatment of animals. Eduardo Kac’s transgenic work “GFP bunny” was genetically modified with injections to appear fluorescent/to glow. This in my opinion should not be considered ethical because of the transfer of synthetic genes to create a species that does not naturally exist in nature. On the other hand George Gessert’s hybridization of irises I consider to be ethical because there is already hybrid flowers created in nature through cross-pollination.

Courtesy of: http://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/cooluses8.html    
Courtesy of:
http://geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w02/gc_w02_gessert.htm

Courtesy of: http://geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w02/gc_w02_gessert.htm

From glowing animals to inventing new hybrids of flowers biotechnology combined with art has made all types of mutations possible. All of the artists producing transgenic organisms have potential to face controversy when engaging in bioart projects. I believe that bioart should still be able to be practiced, however the ethical standards surrounding it needs to be clearer when living creatures are involved. As professor Vesna said in the intro to this week’s lecture on bioart “there are many pros and there are many cons,” I believe artists need to really weigh the pros and cons before starting a project involving animals.

Citations:
Eduardo Kac's GFP Bunny, a Work of Transgenic Art, or, It's Not Easy Being Green. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2017.

Uconlineprogram. "5 BioArt pt5." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 14 May 2017.

Vesna, V. (n.d.). BioTech Intro. Lecture

Vesna, V. (n.d.). BioArt pt1. Lecture

Vesna, V. (n.d.). BioArt pt2. Lecture

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