Week 6: Biotech + Art

Before learning about this weeks topics, I had never known about the artists who use complicated processes to combine genetics with their artistic expressions. Each one that was discussed in lecture was so unique in the way that they used such invasive procedures and scientific practices to make a statement. The one that interested me the most was Kathy High's installation with rats, showing her empathetic relationship with an animal that we all consider to be gross and useless. And the way that Zaretsky created art from genes to critique the way that we live and the alterations in society. Both artists incorporate biotechnology into their artistic expressions by using these scientific experiments to make statements about the world that we live in. 
Photo from embracinganimal.com

However, many of these artists projects are considered controversial due to their invasiveness and personal topics; for example, Orlan's Biotechnological Coat with skin cells from people of all different races and backgrounds. I think that this project effectively makes a statement about our society's diversity, and as long as the humans involved are voluntarily giving skin cells, I do not see a problem with this. On the other hand, Eduardo Kac's "GFP Bunny" is another example of one of the projects that crossed the border in terms of animal treatment because he used injections to genetically engineer a unique bunny. 
Photo from ekac.org

This genetic intrusion similar to the movie Jurassic Park, where animals are engineered and created in labs for the pleasure of people. I don't think this is acceptable because of the way that it permanently alters living things without consent. Although many of these artists do not necessarily have harmful intentions, I do think that there should be boundaries that are more clear regarding levels of invasiveness and mutilation of living things, especially for animals that do not have a choice. 
Photo from wikipedia.com


Resources:

Embracinganimal.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2017. <http://www.embracinganimal.com/>.

"Jurassic Park (1993) - Synopsis." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 07 May 2017. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/synopsis>.

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP Bunny." GFP BUNNY. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2017. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor>.

UCtelevision. "Animal Biotechnology." YouTube. YouTube, 25 July 2008. Web. 07 May 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCIvAuwaf-o>.

Zaretsky, Adam. ELECTRONIC MUTAGENESIS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2017. <http://emutagen.com/index.html>.

Comments

  1. John J.May 17, 2017 at 11:39 PM

    I liked the connection made with Jurassic Park to the lesson. This movie was one of my favorites growing up and I never thought about the correlation of the two things. I also liked your sense of morality in regards to boundaries on the testing of animals. Animals should never be treated inhumanely because that is not right.

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