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Design
by Sequence
“DNA
in Bloom”
More about this project |
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Genetic
Art Proposal
"Title"
More
about this project |
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Ideas |
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Some
of my links on the topic of genetic arts:
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What is
Art…What is an Artist?, 1997
http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/artartists.html
Using Google search term: “What
is art?”
As I have been examining the genomic art pieces I have asked myself
over and over again “is that art?” and so I decided
I had better pursue a definition of what art is today. One the most
interesting thoughts I got off of this site is that objects which
are perceived as art today may not have been thought of as such
back when they were first discovered or created. Certainly no one
(except maybe Watson and Crick) would have considered DNA art back
when it was discovered but now our views have changed.
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What is Art, 2000
http://whatisart.org/
Using Google search term: “what
is art?”
This website offered interesting analysis of my question because it
focuses specifically on the way in which art must respond to changing
technology. One of the central beliefs of this site is that artists
must form a global community to respond to the changing landscape.
This reminded me of the discussions regarding a global landscape for
science, particularly in light of the cross-country work on the Human
Genome Project. |
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Tolstoy, Leo. What is Art?,
1896
http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361r14.html
Using Google search term: “what
is art?”
Following the cue of Dr. Gibbon’s philosophy lectures I decided
to use historical sources to evaluate news issues. I turned to Leo
Tolstoy’s century old essay on the definition of art. I was
particularly moved by one of his opening quotes, “in order correctly
to define art, it is necessary, first of all, to cease to consider
it as a means to pleasure and to consider it as one of the conditions
of human life. “ Thinking of human life impossible without art
helps to explain why artists feel such a duty to incorporate the changes
in human life and society into their artwork. |
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http://www.paulsimon.com
Using Google search term: “Paul
Simon”
Listening to a Paul Simon album on the way to class today , one of
the songs got me thinking about the interplay of science and art.
I logged on to his website to get the lyrics to “The Boy in
the Bubble” which are as follows: “Medicine is magical
and magical is art/The Boy in the Bubble/And the baby with the baboon
heart.” I have been thinking a lot about the “average
layperson’s” response to the biotechnology of today. To
those who have never taken a class, or read about DNA technology,
the idea of putting spinach genes in a pig must seem like magic. How
does artistic representation play a role in this? Has the artistic
response to biotechnology made it more accessible or more isolated? |
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Stone, Susan. Animal Rights Fine
Art, 2003
http://www.sssalas.com/home7.html
Using Google search term: “animal
rights art”
In thinking about my final project one theme that has come to mind
repeatedly is that of animal rights. Largely inspired by my thoughts
on Alba (everyone’s favorite glowing bunny) I have been thinking
about the way both art and technology can change our perception
of animals. Does seeing a bunny so genetically altered that it glows
make her seem less like a pet to be cherished (whose rights should
be protected) and more like a science experiment that you can do
what you wish with? One painting on this website which interested
me was one in which a buffalo was given human features (in response
to the buffalo slaughter of the 1800s). Seeing ourselves in an animal
might making hunting that animal more difficult. |
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Stein, Lisa. New Kac Show Takes a
Look at Ethics, Rabbit. 2002
http://www.ekac.org/lisastein.html
Using Google search term: fluorescent rabbit
This article, reviewing Kac’s exhibit/ campaign to bring Alba
back from France, raised several interesting issues for me. One
was the way in which technology inspires art, which then inspires
more art. Kac’s exhibit featured such pieces as photos of
women looking at photos of Alba. He is taking response to his original
piece of artwork, and turning that into art itself. Since my piece
would largely be responding to his original idea, I was interested
to see how the artist himself chooses to respond. |
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Onion, Amanda. Artists Glowing, Live
Rabbit Creation Creates Fuss, 2002
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/rabbit000918.html
Using Google search term: fluorescent rabbit
The glowing bunny, given the vast number of websites and news articles
devoted to her, is clearly one of the most well-known pieces of
genetic art to appear in recent years. And so one question for me
is if that means if Kac has been successful at getting his message
across. But then I faced a problem--I could not figure out what
his message was. This news piece offers his interpretation that
“GFP Bunny” (for green fluorescent protein bunny) is
designed to combine biotechnology, private family life and the social
domain of public opinion into a single furry symbol.” With
his intention to take Alba home as a family pet, he was intending
to show the transgenic animals were no different from their non-altered
counterparts. I don’t really feel he has succeeded, but the
issue of how we view transgenic vs. natural animals (as pets or
food sources ) is one idea I wish to explore further. |
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The Ethics Behind Transgenic
Art
http://cseserv.engr.scu.edu/nquinn/ENGR019_299Fall2000/StudentWebSites/Evans/ethic.html
Using Google search term: “transgenic
animal art”
This site begins by asking “Assuming that Alba was created
only for art--Is this ethical?” This is certainly a question
I have asked. Genetically altering animals may (and I say that speculatively)
serve a scientific purpose, but is it abusing the technology to
use it for purely aesthetic purposes? Kac was supposedly trying
to raise awareness about transgenic animals, but the article questions
whether or not it is right to create an animal simply to raise awareness.
In imaging what art I would create, a difficulty is in devising
a way for “faux” genetic art, in which animals would
not actually have to suffer harm. |
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Animal Abuse on the Big Screen
http://www.peta.org/feat/bullmovie/index.html
Using Google search term: PETA
I stumble across this website while searching PETA was a response
to transgenic animals but it raised an interesting issue for me.
The focus of this page is Pedro Almodovar’s latest film, “Talk
to Her” and his use of bull fighting. Having seen the film,
and finding it to be one of the best, most artful pictures to arise
in decades, I ignored (or looked past) the bull fighting scenes
which this website claims led to the destruction of six bulls. Visiting
this site made me think about how our perceptions about the quality
of art affects our perceptions of the ethical issues. I think Alba
is ridiculous as art, and therefore am quicker to judge the ethical
issues. However, because I felt this movie was so beautiful, it
was easier for me to ignore the morally objectionable part. This
is a crisis in art--will “good” art be allowed to get
away with more? If I am trying to get a point across about animal
cruelty, do I need to make sure it is in a pleasing medium? |
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