Biotechnology & Art
Week 4 July 2016
Desma 9
In the past, art was expressed through
drawings, paintings, or sculptures. Consequently, the technological revolution
has expanded art into many forms, such as biotechnology art, which combines
art, science and technology.
Some Bio-artists manipulate flowers or
plants, while others explore genes or tissue culture. A Bio-artist may be able
to produce fish that can draw or create a rabbit that glows in the dark, but
does this mean that they should? I have mixed feelings on the ethical impact of
bio-art depending upon whether it has value or not.
Alba, the “glowing”
rabbit created by artist Eduardo Kac, was not produced to boost pet stores’
profits but it proved that it’s possible to transfer genes into a genome. This
in turn, could help to develop new techniques to treat or study diseases. The
rabbits’ life expectancy remained the same as “non-glowing” rabbits. Although I
understand people’s opinions about live animal experimentation, I think it’s
important to also understand the benefits versus risks. If the benefits
outweigh the risks, then it may be advantageous for our society. “With the aid
of GFP, researchers have developed ways to watch processes that were previously
invisible, such as the development of nerve cells in the brain or how cancer
cells spread.” (Vesna)
The Tissue Culture
and Art Project by SymbioticA called MEART, also known as Fish and Chips, used
fish and rat neurons to produce robotic arms that resulted in a semi-living
automated drawing device. This type of bio-art could educate people about
neural interfaces and robotics, therefore being beneficial.
Marta De Menezes used DNA microarrays to
create art showing the genetic differences between individuals. The artist
states “the main objective of my project was to achieve wing patterns never
seen before in nature, but made of normal cells and tissues in live, healthy butterflies.” However,
this artist alters the appearance of the butterfly’s wings for her personal
aesthetic appeal. I don’t see the justification for altering the butterfly’s
wings since the wings serve a purpose for the butterfly which is to avoid
predators by blending in with their environment or to stay warm.
I’m not sure that there is a clear cut
answer about whether or not there should be more or less ethics in Bio Art,
however, there should be some set of rules or regulations for manipulating living
or semi-living things so that they are not harmed in anyway. The material I
utilized the most to help me to understand Bio Art was the lectures by Victoria
Vesna. Her lectures were easily understandable and I am more of an auditory
learner than a visual one.
Sources
"Butterfly Anatomy - Wings." Butterfly Anatomy -
Wings. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
"Eduardo Kac's GFP
Bunny, a Work of Transgenic Art, Or, It's Not Easy Being Green." Eduardo
Kac's GFP Bunny, a Work of Transgenic Art, Or, It's Not Easy Being Green. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
"GFP BUNNY."
GFP BUNNY. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
"GNN - Deprecated:
Function Ereg_replace() Is Deprecated in
/opt/www/gnn/htdocs/gnn_include/php/articlelayout.php on Line 142 Asymmetrical
Butterfly Wings." GNN - Deprecated: Function Ereg_replace() Is Deprecated
in /opt/www/gnn/htdocs/gnn_include/php/articlelayout.php on Line 142
Asymmetrical Butterfly Wings. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
"The Ethical Claims of Bio-Art: Killing the Other or
Self-Cannibalism?" Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
Vesna,
Victoria. “Biotechnology and Art: Part 1 2 & Part 3.” Lecture.. Youtube, 18
Sep. 2013. Web. 12 July 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg.
Images
"Biofutures: Owning
Body Parts and Information." Biofutures: Owning Body Parts and
Information: Culture: Case Study: Bioart. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
"2001-4 - MEART Rat Neuron Drawing Machine - SymbioticA
(Australian/American) - Cyberneticzoo.com." Cyberneticzoocom RSS. N.p.,
2012. Web. 14 July 2016.
"Picture Summaries(jerome)." Fsi1101
/. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
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