Week6: Biotech+Art

Among the topics we have discussed so far, this week's topic of biotechnology and art is definitely the most shocking and controversial one. As an increasing number of artists are utilizing biotechnology to create art work, the ethics of those work brought up a lot of debate. As one of the first artistic research lab in the world, SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia's School of Anatomy and Human Biology offers a platform for artists to collaborate with scientists to develop contemporary bioart projects by "encouraging better understanding and articulation of cultural ideas around scientific knowledge and informed critique of the ethical and cultural issues of life manipulation" (SymbioticA).

http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/activities/symposiums

SymbioticA

Many art pieces created with biotechnology has longer and more profound influence than what people might originally have expected. Narrated by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, Food Inc is a 2008 American documentary film that examines corporate farming in the United States. I watched the film about a year ago, realizing many shocking yet truthful facts about how the food we eat everyday is being served to our table. Biotechnology has completely changed the where our food comes from and how it is made, making food production system more efficient, yet more dangerous at the same time. In the interview with Michael Pollen, he clearly expresses the concerns about the current food system in the United States, which is affecting people's health and fitness with biotechnology and bioart in their everyday life.

http://www.foodincmovie.co.uk/press.php

Food Inc

I personally find it hard to accept many art works discussed in this week's lecture. For instance, I am not able to appreciate the beauty of the glowing mice created by Osamu Shimomura by injecting jellyfish gene to mice. Similarly, "GFP Bunny", the famous green fluorescent rabbit, has glowing body parts in Ultraviolet light .While Eduardo Kac might consider "GFP Bunny" to a brilliant transgenic art work, I would criticize it for showing no respect to the nature and the social ethics.

http://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/cooluses8.html

GFP Bunny

Despite of some controversial biotech art work, there is a variety of inspiring pieces of bioart. Joe Davis’ experiment on E. coli is a fascinating one. By inserting a sequence of genes into E.coli bacteria, researchers are able to show its responses to jazz music. When making use of biotechnology to create art, artists must draw a fine line between abusing organisms and using life as a valid expressive medium. There always should be clear regulations and limits set for art that has an impact on life.

Sources
"SymbioticA." : : The University of Western Australia. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/>
"Food, Inc." TakePart. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.takepart.com/foodinc>
"Green Fluorescent Protein - GFP History - Osamu Shimomura." Green Fluorescent Protein - GFP History - Osamu Shimomura. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor>
 "GFP BUNNY." GFP BUNNY. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor>
 "Joe Davis: Genetics and Culture." Joe Davis: Genetics and Culture. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_joe.htm>