Biotech & Art

Biotechnology is a concept that has been highly debated over years. When you break down exactly what they do, you have artists bringing what they do in “studios” into laboratories. Art and science have continued to expand over the years and as a society we are astonished by what science and art have been able to discover. One of the reasons why discovery has been so remarkable is due to the job done in biotechnology. “Art in its broadest sense has been one way to acclimatize the public to new scientific discoveries and new technologies”(Levy.) And that is what they are trying to do.

This form of art has been both praised and criticized and Kelty explains: “amateur biologists are setting up labs in garages and are creating the next silicon valley, and the other hand they are screwing with living organisms and if they aren’t careful, we will all die from the virulent bugs they create but cannot control”. This is what most people think about biotech and it is true it is a high risk and high reward business. However, isn’t that what America has prided themselves on for years that we make all these advances? There definitely was risk that was involved for them to obtain these goals.

The pioneer Joe Davis was working on a project in 2013 to feed silk worms gold chloride and see if they will spin gold cocoons. About the project he responded: “To me, it doesn’t really matter about the craft, what matters is making something that holds an idea”. This is something that at the time of the experiment can draw concerns, but biologists like Davis will take the criticism because they know that they can be on to something special and this will not draw concern if they succeed.

To put the debate to rest for the time being, we know that living tissue needs proper biohazard disposal and it can’t be transported easily. However, bio-art has been found in experimental festivals and university museums, so these artists are going about this the right way so they aren’t causing harm to society. As long as they are disposing of things in the right way then they should be able to fulfill their individual artistic needs.

Kelty, Christopher M. “Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology?” Web.http://www.desminopathy.info/pdf/jcom09012010c03.pdf

Levy, Ellen. “Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications.” Web.http://nanobioart.artscicenter.com/hybrid/sites/default/files/Ellen_Levy_BioArt.pdf

Vesna, Victoria. “Biotechnology and Art part 1.” Youtube. Web.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg

Vesna, Victoria. “Biotechnology and Art part 2.” Youtube. Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=MdSt-Hjyi2I

Miranda, Carolina. “Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form.” ARTnews. Mar. 2013. Web. 08 May 2015.