Week 6 - BioTech + Art

I have never thought of connecting BioTech with art before since obviously they are two completely different fields. But after watching this week’s videos, I realized that there are actually a lot of examples of the integration of BioTech and art which I have heard of or seen.

The professor mentioned a great number of specific cases where artists entered the labs and collaborated with scientists to perform their unique ideas of combining Biotech and art. For example in 2000, the famous glowing rabbit was created in France by transferring green fluorine protein (GFP) gene into the cells of a rabbit. 

GFP Bunny by Eduardo Kac

Apparently, this glowing creature is not something that could be observed in the nature. Thus, this caused a lot of people’s concerns about outlaws biology experiments and some even compared it with committing a crime. However as Chris Kelty argued, that they are different essentially since “outlaws are outside the law, or before it, and this is why questions of regulation, oversight, self-governance and the technical infrastructures necessary”.

Extra Ear Project

Another impressive content I saw when watching the video was the Extra Ear project. This is basically using primary human tissue from a donor to form nonfunctional tissue in the shape of an ear. This reminds me of horn implants which have been popular during the recent decade.

An example of horn implant.


Unlike Extra Ear, horn implants insert artificial materials into the skin of forehead to create a look of horns. I believe that this is also an example of the integration of biotech and art.




Sources: 

Levy, Ellen. Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications. PDF. Web

Kelty, Chris. meanings of participation: Outlaw Biology?. PDF. Web.

“Horn Implants”. Medical Bag. 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 7 May 2017. 

Zpira, Lukas. “13 Most Extreme Body Modifications”. CBS News. Unknown. Web. 7 May 2017.


Kac, Eduardo. “GFP Bunny”. Eduardo Kac. 2000. Web. 7 May 2017.

Comments

  1. Jeffrey TsouMay 13, 2017 at 1:55 AM

    Your examples of the Extra Ear project and horn implant are very interesting. It is quite intriguing that these artists are willing to utilize their lives as a medium of artistic expression, despite the apparently unnecessary additions to their bodies. In your opinion, is it profitable to expend medical resources on implants that do not address patients' needs? It seems to me that while the integration of biotech and art is expanding, there is the need for some regulations on how engineering should be properly used on biological systems and limitations to creativity.

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