Even though I’m not a big fan of modifying genes for any living creatures, I have to admit that biotech is a very useful technique, and that artists can make use of it to create great art pieces as long as they don’t cross the boundaries of morality and law. Through this week’s readings and lectures, I got a chance to be more familiar with how artists employed biotech in their works, and I am impressed by some of the artworks such as the Embracing Animal project by Kathy High, and the human cells as signals to space project by Joe Davis.
Throughout the history of art making use of biotech, I feel Adam Zaretsky is the precursor as well as the representative of the theoretical explanation. In his famous quotes, he explained that learning science, especially biotech, is a pursuit of art because “scientific and industrial organisms, created for specific utilization or for the furtherance of comprehension, are also expressions of aesthetic choices.” This is definitely reasonable, as we can see there are more and more emerging biotech related artworks. However, in Ellen K. Levy’s paper, he questioned the public about whether animals or body parts could be considered as a property such that we could modify arbitrarily. In my opinion, we should respect all living creatures equal, so I have a lot of empathy towards Kathy High’s project, since I feel those bio-engineered mice are an unfortunate bi-product of modern technology.
To sum up, I largely agree that art and biotech is connected. Also the modern society showed a big interest in arts related to biotech, partly because it is controversial. I feel if the artists don’t cross the boundaries, biotech is a good field to enter to develop creative and interesting art projects.
"Kathy High: visual/media artist, independent curator, educator." Kathy High: Projects: Embracing Animal. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.
"Biotech Art, UCLA: Joe Davis." Vimeo. N.p., 06 Nov. 2016. Web. 11 May 2017.
Lovejoy, Margot, Victoria Vesna, and Christiane Paul. Context providers: conditions of meaning in media arts. Bristol ; Chicago, IL: Intellect, 2011. Print.
"Biotech and Art." MIT Hacking Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.
Yaminay. "A conversation with Kathy High." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Feb. 2011. Web. 11 May 2017.
I like your insight into the role controversy plays in this. I agree that a big part of the attraction between artists and biotech probably can be attributed to the controversial aspect of biotech. Artists throughout history have always been at the forefront of what is okay and what is taboo, so it is only natural that they continue to be at the frontier of exploration, even as the forefront changes over time.
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