BioArt

         

Many types of “life” itself have been used as an art form. We see live art where people themselves are apart of the art display, animals used in art pieces, and live neurons used to create art. I believe that life can be a valid medium for the expression of art if used ethically and the organism is not hurt in the process. For example, the art piece “Fish and Chips” done in the SymbioticA lab used goldfish neurons to power a robotic arm that to create drawings. The neurons were grown in the lab, but an actual fish was not used. I personally thought this piece was very creative and could be an insight to how fish think. Hackers, on the other hand, do not protect their life forms while using them as a medium. Hackers use their knowledge of since to impress others to show that they understand the system well

enough to control it and to make it do something it wasn’t meant to do (Kelty, 1). In my opinion, Marta de Menezes could be categorized has a hacker when she did her butterfly piece. Genetically altering the wing patterns ended up hurting the butterfly by creating holes in the wings, and the butterfly’s life and well-being is more important than artistic needs.

          In Kathy High’s empathy rat piece with hybrid rats was used as a message towards the medical community and how they treat animals in scientific experiments. None of the rats were hurt or mistreated during her exhibition; she took care of them until these rats became healthy again. Because the rats were not harmed and actually treated better, the use of life as an art medium is valid and actually got a message across. This being said, I do think there should be firmer restrictions on artists using biotechnology than for scientists.

Using non-human life forms in scientific research is different than using them for art pieces because it is usually for academic purposes to further our knowledge about disease, medicine, and the brain. Medicine would not be where it is today without animal testing. There is no substantial gain from manipulating living organisms for an art piece, except for the praise or criticism of the artist.

Images:

• Bio-Art: The Ethics behind the Aesthetics. Digital image. Nature. 2009. Web. 
• The Steve Potter Lab. MEART -The Semi Living Artist. Digital image. ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show. Web.
• Summers, Alex. An animal rights argument for biomedical research. Digital image. SciScoop Stuff. 15 Nov. 2011. Web

References:

• Kelty, Chris. "Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology." 1-8. Print.
• McRae, Emma. "A Report on the Practices of SymbioticA Research Group in Their Creation of MEART – the Semi-living Artist." University of Western Australia. Web. 9 May 2015.  
• Stracey, Frances. "Bio-art: The Ethics behind the Aesthetics." Nature.com. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, June 2009. Web. 9 May 2015. .  
• Vesna, Victoria. "BioTech + Art Lectures ." Desma 9 Lecture. Los Angeles. 9 May 2015. Lecture. Online.
• Zurr, Ionat. & Catts, Oron. "The Ethical Claims of BioArt: Killing the Other or Self-Cannibalism?" University of Wester Australia. Web. 9 May 2015.