Week 4: Biotechnology + Art

            Coming into this week’s lecture, I wasn’t completely convinced that biotechnology could be a valid form of artistic expression. Research in the field of genetics has lead to numerous breakthroughs that have improved the quality of human life, but how does art come into play?

            One of the most important applications of biotechnology + art is it’s ability to stimulate dialogue about biotechnological ethics in society. In the case of Eduardo Kac’s GFP Bunny, where the artist created a genetically modified rabbit that would glow when illuminated under blue light, one of the main aspects of the project was concerned with “the lively social, cultural and ethical debates provoked by this ‘man-made’ mutation” (Stracey, 2009). As long as the art has the purpose of raising these important questions and sparking debates, it’s valid to use life as art in this way.

GFP animals including Kac's GFP Bunny (bottom left)

Source: <http://agapakis.com/hssp/splicing.html>

Paul Wolpe discusses advances in biotechnology and the importance of ethics and responsibility

Source: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovV7v2XYJAI>

            One ethical standard for biotechnology in art should be that no intentional harm should comes to living beings without purpose. According to Art History Professor Frances Stracey, “bio-art is least successful, and most contentious, when the science is reduced to mere aesthetic spectacle, and no account is taken of the specific or paradigmatic differences that affect how one discipline is mediated through another” (Stracey, 2009). I draw the ethical line at the creation of genetic hybrids for pets. Animals such as the Prolos Fira, Tigon and Doloin were created for little more than having interesting looking pets or animals to display. Hybrid animals tend to have shorter lifespans than normal species and are more susceptible to cancers and other illnesses. The intentional creation of animals susceptible to all these problems, only for the sake of spectacle, is not ethical artistic expression.

Genetic crossbreed animals: Prolos Fira (Lemur-Cat, left) and Doloin (Dog-Lion, right)

Source: <http://listverse.com/2008/04/01/top-10-bizarre-genetically-modified-organisms/>

Works Cited

Eun, Seo. "Genetically Modified Organisms." Genetically Modified Organism. Slideshare, 30 Aug. 2011. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://www.slideshare.net/ArleneTeodosio/genetically-modified-organism-9062878>.

"Macroevolution: Crossbreeds." Introductory Biology: Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity. North Carolina State University. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.ncsu.edu/project/bio181de/Black/macroevolution/macroev_news/cross02a.htm>.

Solon, Olivia. "Bioart: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Using Living Tissue as a Medium." Wired. Conde Nast Digital, 28 July 2011. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.wired.com/2011/07/bioart/>.

Stracey, Frances. "Bio-art: The Ethics behind the Aesthetics." Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 10.7 (2009): 496-500. Web.

Pusta, Dana. "Animal Transgenesis and its Applications." Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Veterinary Medicine 67.1 (2010).