Desma 9 Week 6

 

Bio Tech + Art

                                                                        BioScientist working in Lab, Courtesy of Marta De Menezes

I was drawn to Ellen K. Levy's article on the classification of life because of how closely it resembles the current problem we are having with how to classify biotechnology within contemporary living forms. According to Levy, when we allocate and categorize different life forms into artificial groups, we are developing a limited perspective that does not adequately account for the individuality of each thing. The desire to categorize and group together concepts that appear to be similar in order to process information more effectively is something I am well versed in as a scientist, so I found this to be fascinating. However, I never considered how doing so might prevent the individualistic qualities from coming through. This notion amplifies the significance of an artist's viewpoint in reimagining discard arbitrary classifications, and instead redefine and value the unique qualities of each of our creations.

                                                                                       A butterfly manipulated by Marta de Menezes

                                                   Marta de Menezes. https://martademenezes.com/

Marta de Menezes altered the cellular makeup of live butterflies, changing their wing patterns as a result. However, the new wings showed perforations, which many onlookers found uncomfortable. In a much more serious situation, Steve Kurtz was accused of participating in bioterrorism. When the authorities searched his home after he reported that his wife had died from congenital heart failure, they found a "small home lab" that contained a variety of biological apparatus. The results of Kurtz's actions appeared to be extremely upsetting and unethical.

Chicago Humanities Festival. "Eduardo Kac: Transgenic Artist." 2013, https://youtu.be/3LSJVD0m1Mg.

When manipulating living things, artists should be free to use their imagination unrestrictedly in order to produce new life forms and artistic undertakings without harming the creatures. This is seen by the success of artists like Vesna in producing transgenic mice. Additionally, the luminous rabbit, a work of art created by transgenic artist Eduardo Kac, combines the domains of art, science, and technology with those of genetics, creatures, and the environment. The GFB Bunny, also known as Alba, was created as a result of Kac's capacity to think outside the bounds of pure genome integrity. This was accomplished by integrating a green fluorescent protein transgene into the host genome using zygote microinjection. Most importantly, these artistic techniques are harmless given that the molecular biology techniques used are well-established and well-understood, and since the fluorescent protein is "harmless to the rabbit," as Kac puts it, these techniques are to the benefit of the living species involved.

Sources:

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP BUNNY. " Ekac.Org, 2018, http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor. 

Levy, Ellen K.. “Defining Life. Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications.”

Vesna, Victoria. “5 Bioart Part 1.” Youtube, UCLA, 18 Sept. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 Bioart Part 4.” Youtube, UCLA, 18 Sept. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg.

Marta de Menezes. https://martademenezes.com/