BioTech + Art (Week 6)

As the development of biotechnology, human beings have been hugely benefitted in many ways; clone techs supports organ duplication, or GMO foods help starvations all around the world. Food coloring and shaping and DNA manipulation technology (Stem Cell) are also regarded to be a form of art.

Yellow Watermelon

Stem Cell Technology

In this regard, UCLA anthropologist professor, Chris Kelty, expected our future form of biological culture of DIYbio (do-it-yourself biology), which was encouraged to explore experimental attempts in garage or college lab believing in power of outlaws. As a result, aligned with the DIYbio idea, many artists are motivated as well in order to express their artistic desires utilizing life beings, especially such as animals, humans, or foods. They are actively participating in this movement as likely to be Victorian Gentlemen. The group, Symbiotica, is one example you can find easily tries out the combination of biotechnology and art.

Victimless Leather: Tissue Culture & Art

This is a representing illustration of artistic biology, created by Oron Catts, who cultivated "jacket" from mouse tissue inside of glass ball as an artistic experiment. Their work goes back to the Joe Davis's first type of transgenic art. Art is basically pursuing the creation of beauty from something. The more original source you use, which no one imagines, the better effects you will extract. The use of living organisms as a material for an artwork would be a shocking trial. With respect to this, mutilation, mutation, selective breeding, or transgenics are the diverse methods they use to derive best beauty from the resources just as you drive, bicycle, or walk to get to the destination. For example, George Gessert, who selectively bred and recombined flowers, then he discovered aesthetics of shape or color from the result.

However, their efforts to create a beauty, their biotechnological conducts might bring about the ethical or social problems. The DIYbio that was mentioned above encourages the public's active participation using biotechnologies. Because of incautious usage of it, technologies were abused and caused some illnesses to the society. The technology inversely harms the ones who developed it. Firstly, the movie, Gattaca, criticized the gene manipulation. The development of human technology of selecting superior genes from the inferior ones produce a horrible future. In fact, there are some scientific skills that make possible to create a baby in favor of parents' interests. That is morally supposed to happen and hugely selfish idea that misused science technology in behalf of themselves. 

      

It is definitely obvious to try many attempts on science-artistic experiments, of course in favor the expression of a certain type of beauty but also the development of biotechnology. However, as the emergence of aesthetic plastic surgery aggravated lookism to the society, especially Asian cultures, the combination of biotechnology and art produces some unwanted result; unethical gene manipulation, or obtainment of human egg cells for the clone experiments (Hwang Woo Suk incident in 2005, later cinematized: "Whistle Blower"). In this regard, their trials must have ethical guideline and limit to the point at which prevent social problems but still promotes the originality of art. 

Citations:

Feuer, Jack. "Outlaw Biology - UCLA Magazine." UCLA Magazine. N.p., 1 July 2010. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://magazine.ucla.edu/features/outlaw-biology/>.

Gattaca - Trailer. Dir. Andrew Nicole. Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015. <https://youtu.be/PC6ZA1dFkVk>.

Kelty, Chris. “Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology?”. Web. 10 May 2015.

Miranda, Carolina. "Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form." ARTnews. N.p., 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.artnews.com/2013/03/18/biotechnology-as-art-form/>.

Vesna, Victoria, narr. “BioTech Art Lectures I-V.” N.p., . Web. 10 May 2015.