michaelpadillaDESMA9

Artists have started to merge biotechnology with their art as a way to engage audiences while also experimenting with new technologies that may be useful in the future. One project that really stood out to me was Revival Field by Mel Chin. According to Chin, "the initial experiment was a replicated field test using special hyperaccumulator plants to extract heavy metals from contaminated soil" (Chin 2003). I thought this project was compelling mainly because it started off as a conceptual artwork with the intent to sculpt a site's ecology. 

Graves, Kathy. “Mel Chin & More.” Public Art Saint Paul, 15 Sept. 2017, publicartstpaul.org/announcing-30th-anniversary-line/.


By combining art and modern biotechnology together, artists aim to reach toward new understandings
about the human condition, our bodies, the environment and other species, which I think is very intriguing. GFP Bunny is an artwork by Eduardo Kac that consists of a fluorescent rabbit through molecular biology. The rabbit became the first new mammal in the history of art, ultimately sparking the international recognition of Bio Art (Kac 2000). This remarkable brightly glowing green fluorescent protein, GFP, was first observed in the beautiful jellyfish, Aequorea Victoria in 1962. This protein has become one of the most important tools in contemporary bioscience (Chalfie 2008). I like how artists offer new insights about genetic engineering by bringing it out of the lab and into the public eye. It allows for viewers to understand the material of our bodies and the consequences of biotechnology.

Young, Emma. “Mutan Bunny.” Green Fluorescent Protein - Cool Uses - Alba, 22 Sept. 2000, www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/cooluses8.html.


To answer a few of West's questions, I think the way we define and value artistic media and technologies can be controversial. It can be seen as beneficial such as the first project I mentioned about the plants or it can be frowned upon such as the GFP bunny because it involves animal experimentation. However I do not think the restrictions should be more stringent for artists using biotech than for scientists. I think that these artists want scientists to think about their creations. Artists like Ani Liu challenges how we think about creating the future, using AI and mind-controlled sperm (Peterschmidt 2022). Bio-artists use live tissues, bacteria, living organisms and life processes to create works of art that blur between the traditional distinctions between science and art. I do not think there should be separate standards for these artists because most of these works tend toward social reflection, conveying political and societal criticism through the combination of artistic and scientific processes (Augusta Chronicle 2007).


Miranda, Carolina A. “Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form.” ARTnews.Com, 18 Nov. 2019, www.artnews.com/art-news/news/biotechnology-as-art-form-2184/.


Works Cited

Chin, Mel. “Revival Field.” Revival Field – Mel Chin, 1993, melchin.org/oeuvre/revival-field/.

Chalfie, Martin. “The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008.” NobelPrize.Org, 8 Oct. 2008, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2008/press-release/.

Kac, Eduardo. GFP Bunny, 2000, www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html.

Peterschmidt, D. “This Biotech Artist Wants Scientists to Think about Their Creations.” Science Friday, 16 Sept. 2022, www.sciencefriday.com/articles/biotech-artist/#:~:text=SciArts-,This%20Biotech%20Artist%20Wants%20Scientists%20To%20Think%20About%20Their%20Creations,intelligence%20and%20mind%2Dcontrolled%20sperm.

“Bio-Artists Create Pieces by Using Living Materials.” The Augusta Chronicle, 4 Mar. 2007, www.augustachronicle.com/story/lifestyle/2007/03/04/liv-118606-shtml/14723706007/.


Images

Graves, Kathy. “Mel Chin & More.” Public Art Saint Paul, 15 Sept. 2017, publicartstpaul.org/announcing-30th-anniversary-line/.

Miranda, Carolina A. “Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form.” ARTnews.Com, 18 Nov. 2019, www.artnews.com/art-news/news/biotechnology-as-art-form-2184/.

Young, Emma. “Mutan Bunny.” Green Fluorescent Protein - Cool Uses - Alba, 22 Sept. 2000, www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/cooluses8.html.



Comments

  1. Alexander HoogmartensMay 12, 2023 at 6:00 PM

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  2. Alexander HoogmartensMay 12, 2023 at 6:10 PM

    Hi Michael, I agree that artists merge biotechnology with their art as a way to engage audiences. I find it very astonishing that artists bring techniques of biotechnology from out of the lab and into the public eye. Moreover, your reference to the 'Revival Field' is an excellent illustration of how artists experiment with biotechnological methods that have the potential to be beneficial in the future. I think that your last example of the 'Victimless Leather' proves this statement as well. Great post!

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