Week 6: Biotech + Art
Where is the Line?
The field of biotech has grown immensely over the last few decades, and its intersection with the domain of nature, which we have always held to be a product of its own single origin, has been controversial with regards to how much it should be allowed to invade the space. Where is the line to stop, and has it already been crossed?
We already see the influence of the biotech revolution in many aspects of our daily lives, in our food production, botany, cosmetics, and even science fiction to name a few. The ethical aspect of bio-art is consequently the biggest point of controversy. in the last two decades have artists collaborated with biologists to create works that use live human and animal tissues as materials. This emerging field of "bioart" can be extremely provocative, and brings with it a range of technical, logistical and ethical issues. One example is transgenic art, that uses genetic engineering to create visually aesthetic progeny.
The GFP Bunny by Eduardo Kac is one of its kind, which received negative criticism from some factions with regards to animal cruelty and interfering with natural progress. In other cases of genetic engineering there could be ecological benefits all round however, like with identifying and optimizing cattle breeding to minimize pasture usage and maximize dairy and meat outputs. Circling back, this line is going to be very hard to define, and as more bioart innovations come through this definition will become imperative.
Sources;
"5 BioArt pt3." Youtube, uploaded by UC Online, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSt-Hjyi2I&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7. Accessed 3 May, 2022.
Kac, Eduardo. "GFP Bunny." ekac.com. Web. http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor. Accessed 6 May, 2022.
Kac, Eduardo. "Transgenic Art", Leonardo Electronic Almanac, Vol. 6, N. 11, December 1998. Republished in: Gerfried Stocker and Christine Schopf (eds.), Ars Electronica '99 - Life Science (Vienna, New York: Springer, 1999), pp. 289- 296. See also: Kac, Eduardo. "Genesis", in Spike/Genesis, exhibition catalogue, O. K. Center for Contemporary Art, Linz, Austria, pp. 50-55.
Vaage, Nora S. “What Ethics for Bioart?” Nanoethics, Springer Netherlands, 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4791467/.
McDonald's Food Expirament - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6us9kHHSNwk.
Hi Kabir! I really enjoyed reading your blog. I agree that biotech is influencing our lives more and more. I do however wonder what would this mean for future generations and if biotech will become a permanent fact of our lives or if it will be regulated because of ethical concerns. Projects like Eduardo Kac's genetically modified bunny are extremely fascinating, but they aren't exactly beneficial and are not ethical. Thus I would have loved to read your opinion on what kind of regulations you deem as necessary in the current biotechnological industry. Overall great job!
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