Week 6: BioTech + Art

This week's topic of "BioArt" is one of the more controversial topics we have covered, and for that reason it is very interesting to me. It raises concerns in the areas of ethics, sociology, and politics, among others. One could argue that art is controversial as is, in that everyone has a different opinion and interpretation of each work. With subjects like genetics emerging as a new space to apply art, there is more possibility for breaching into unethical or offensive territory.

The fusion of biotechnology and art has undoubtedly made bigger strides in more recent times due to advancement in technology. Starting with Joe Davis in 1982, whose works such as the audio microscope, which translated light information into sound, essentially allowing cells to be "heard", incorporated an artistic perspective to biology. Marrying these two concepts was a foreign idea at the time and seemed crazy to many.


Eduardo Katz is someone whose work has artistic value but still approaches the fine line between He used the GFP gene from jellyfish to create a bunny who glowed under blue light. While the bunny is not harmed, to our knowledge, many people wonder if it's humane to use living things as test subject for purely artistic reasons. Additionally, Marta De Menezes' work with butterflies in the artistic laboratory SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia raised concerns. She began altering the patterns and colors on the butterflies' wings which eventually resulted in holes on their wings. When the line is crossed in BioArt and the subjects - who are unable to consent - are harmed, I believe we are forced to reevaluate what is art and what is simply unethical.

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP Bunny." Ekac.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html>.

Jonas, Hans. "Ethics and Biogenetic Art." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.

Davis, Joe. "Audio Microscope." Viewingspace.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_audio_scope.htm>.

Vesna, Victoria, narr. “BioTech Art Lectures I-V.” N.p., . web. 8 May 2015.

Levy, Ellen K. "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications." Context Providers: Conditions of Meaning in Media Arts. Ed. Margot Lovejoy, Christine Paul, and Victoria Vesna. Bristol: Intellect, 2011. 275-97. Print.