Unit 6: BioTech + Art

 BioTech + Art

This week’s topic focused on the relationship between Art and Biotechnology. This relationship, according to Professor Vesna, is referred to as Bio-art and was made popular by Joe Davis, a bio artist who in the 1980s was able to pursued scientists at MIT to teach him how to manipulate genes. Bio artists combine their artistic skills with scientific knowledge to come up with amazing pieces of art. The definition of Bio-art is still unclear and the issue of artists going into scientific labs to come up with creative objects is still hotly debated.

Joe Davis

http://bioartlab.com/joe-davis-bioart/

 The relationship between art and biotechnology has raised many questions with some people questioning the moral implications of manipulating living just for artistic purpose. One such work that raises moral questions is that by Eduardo Kac. His work is quiet interesting in that he was able to create a green fluorescent bunny by altering its genes. The bunny, named Alba, glows green when exposed to blue light and is an albino rabbit.

The Glowing Bunny

www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor

Apart from the bunny, Eduardo Kac has also a plantimal which is basically a flower that has blood in the veins that run across its petals. This piece of work brings the relationship between animal and plants to a very close level and scientists could even borrow from this concept to create plants that could be harvested for blood to be used in transfusion thus eliminating the need for blood donation.

 The plantimal

 http://www.ekac.org/nat.hist.enig.html

The work of bio artists has raised various questions but what remains true is that bio artists actually play an important role to both artists and bio-technicians. The work done by various bio artists could be used as a basis for future biotechnological techniques. Apart from being eye catching, such pieces of art could to future discoveries in both science and art.

Works Cited

Symbiotica.The University of Western Australia. 10 Nov 2013. Web. <http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/>

 The Manifesto. The Tissue Culture and Art Project. 2009. Web. 10 Nov 2013 <http://tcaproject.org/>.

Vesna, Victoria, Lecture.Biotech Art Lectures I-V. web. 10  Nov 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-6-view?module_item_id=970441>

Kac, Eduardo. GFP Bunny. 2000. Web 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor>

Kac, Eduardo. Natural History of the Enigma.Ekac. 2009. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.ekac.org/nat.hist.enig.htm>