Week 6 BioTech + Art

In this week’s lesson, we have discussed how artists are involved with genetic engineering and more generally biotechnology. I was really impressed by artists’ creative works of manipulating life genetically. For example, the project “Fish and Chips” by artists from the Symbiotica struck me as an inspiring form of semi-living objects. The project mainly presented a robotic arm that was run by the activity of golden fish neurons to draw and create artworks.


 

The robotic arm from “Fish and Chips”

I have seen a lot of projects on transplanting genes from one species to another, but I had never thought about how cells from living creatures can manipulate machines. This innovative project indeed embodies the idea that “creativity breeds creativity” proposed by Chris Kelty in this week’s reading. The creativity of golden fish neurons and the creativity of biotechnologies have bred the creativity of the “Fish and Chips,” and future projects combining art and biotechnologies will definitely be inspired further and be even more innovative.

In addition to contributing to new creations and inventions, artists interested in biotechnologies have also drawn people’s attention to ethical issues involved in the exploration of genetics. Kathy High is an artist interested in the fate of lab rats. Because she suffers from the Crohn’s disease which can be trigger by stress, she has identified with lab rats living under extreme stress and questions the politics of caring for them. I wonder indeed how lab rats like the ones used in transplanting florescent genes by Osamu Shimomura end their lives.


Florescent mice

Thinking about lab rats, I was reminded of Get Out, a recent movie about transplanting one person’s brain into another person’s body and the consciousness of the body provider would live in darkness forever. The fate of lab rats is just like that of the body providers: their body parts would be manipulated and they would lose the chance to live a normal, happy life. Therefore, Kathy High is definitely pointing at an issue that needs our attention, as well as other ethical concerns raised by various artists.




A female body provider in Get Out

Appreciating the creativity and ethical concerns that artists have contributed to the development of biotechnology, I look forward to the future of genetic engineering guided by scientists as well as these brilliant artists.



Works Cited

Ars Electronica Festival 2001: Fish & Chips / SymbioticA. 2011. Flickr. Web. 14 May 2017. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/5415033341>.

Kelty, Chris. Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology? N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF.

N.d. ‘Get Out’ Conveys a Message Within Horror. By Christian Watts. Web. 14 May 2017. <http://dailynexus.com/2017-03-02/get-out-conveys-a-message-within-horror/>.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 bioart pt1 1280x720.” Uploaded by uconlineprogram, 18 Sep. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg#action=share.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 BioArt pt3.” Uploaded by uconlineprogram, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EpD3np1S2g&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7#action=share.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 BioArt pt2.” Uploaded by uconlineprogram, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSt-Hjyi2I&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7#action=share.


YEH, Sam. 2003. (FILES) This file picture dated on July. Web. 14 May 2017. <http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/this-file-picture-dated-on-july-26-2003-shows-fluorescent-news-photo/83172980#this-file-picture-dated-on-july-26-2003-shows-fluorescent-mouse-by-picture-id83172980>.

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