Week 6 - Societies Moral Hierarchies

The evolution of technology has created new links between different disciplines by introducing new ways of thinking. One recent practice to emerge out of these new links is BioArt. According to Clément Adam, BioArt is a practice involving artists who incorporate a living medium into their artwork.

Adam also stated in his article, “The traditional distinctions between science and art are blurred so that political and social criticism comes up consistently”. Although BioArt allows such debates, artists who practice in this field encounter a lot of resistance. Debates over the ethics of BioArt have surfaced since the first day of its emergence. According to Adam, many view BioArt “as an unnecessary use of living organisms”.

(Figure 1 Kathy High's
Embracing Animal)

Although using living organisms in the lab can improve human health, BioArt is criticized for its un-called use of these living organisms and aesthetics. One artist who exemplifies this idea, mentioned by Professor Vesna in Lecture, is Kathy High.  In High’s Embracing Animal project three transgenic breeding rats that were used in autoimmune disease research for an illness close to hers were given special housing and placed in the public’s view. In this installation, High demonstrated her kinship with the rats by treating them holistically and as sisters. This project demonstrated that although these transgenic rats are essential tools for the study of human health, they are often unnecessarily used and poorly treated because their physiologically similarities with humans are often forgotten.

(Figure 2 Alba, the Fluorescent Bunny.)

 In contrast to High, one artist named Eduardo Kac and his GFP Bunny he created caused a great deal of controversy for his unnecessary use of a living creature.  Despite being successful in creating ongoing dialogue about the cultural and ethical implications of genetic engineering, Kac had many against him. According to Professor Vesna in Lecture, Animal activists argued that the project is needless and abusive to the animal and scientists dismissed the project as interesting but silly.

(Figure 3 Joanna Zylinska.)

However, one cultural theorist that defends BioArt is Joanna Zylinska, who claims biotechnology provides new insights into our understanding of genetics. Zylinska’s explanation for artists, such as Kac, is that they were just trying to play the role of an educator.  Zylinska states to the Huffington Post that “Art should confuse us about science…BioArt is an important tester of moral hierarchies”. Realizing the moral standards of society could provide scientists with the information they need to establish boundaries on their research.  

Works Cited

"Bioart: Science, Art Or Just Playing God?." Huffington Post Culture United Kingdom. AOL (UK) Limited, 23 Feb 2012. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/02/21/bioart-science-art-playing-god_n_1290700.html>.

Clément, Adam. "Bioart, Ethics, And Artworks." Masters of Media. N.p., 18 Apr 2012. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://mastersofmedia.hum.uva.nl/2012/04/18/bioart-ethics-and-artworks/>.

Eduardo , Kac. "GFP Bunny." Kac Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html>.

Figure 1. High, Kathy. Emracing Animal. 2004-06. Photograph. Kathy High: visual/media artist, independent curator, educatorWeb. 11 Nov 2013. <http://kathyhigh.com/ppix/embracing/02.jpg>.

Figure 2. Fontaine, Chrystelle. Alba, the fluorescent bunny. 2000. Photograph. Kac WebWeb. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.ekac.org/albagreen.jpeg>.

Figure 3. Joanna Zylinska. 2013. Photograph. Joanna ZylinskaWeb. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.joannazylinska.net/storage/IMG_1079-smaller-frame.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1363209505638>.

High, Kathy. "embracing animal." Kathy High: visual/media artist, independent curator, educator. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://kathyhigh.com/project-embracing-animal.html>.

 Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-6-view?module_item_id=970441>.