BioTech + Art

BioTech + Art

    Joe Davis's creation of Microvenus is a project that was extremely interesting to me. Davis is a pioneer for the growing field of bioart, and his Microvenus was one of the first projects that combined art and biology. Davis was able to encode an image into a strand of DNA, which was then inserted into a strain of E. coli bacteria (Gibbs). This image represents a female goddess of art and life, and was inspired by previous astronomers who wanted to come into contact with extraterrestrial life, but left out female genitalia in their artistic representation of humans (Caputo). Davis chose to model this figure in DNA as a statement regarding the importance of a human representation that is all encompassing (Clot). This demonstrates that Davis was able to reflect one of his beliefs through bioart, which is another benefit of exploring this field. While I am constantly amazed that our bodies are able to encode DNA and translate genetic messages, it is even more astonishing that scientists have the ability to alter these codes to represent art.

    Another example of a person who explores the cross section between BioTech and art that I found interesting was Orlan, an artist who deals with plastic surgery (Artnet). She has undergone several surgeries to alter her features to represent famous historical figures, such as Boticelli's Venus's chin and the Mona Lisa's forehead (Stuart). When we think of plastic surgery, we often only consider surgical procedures to alter a feature that we want to change. However, Orlan uses surgery as a way of expressing herself and creating an image that speaks to people. She aims to alter beauty standards and promote the message that each person should express themselves in a way that makes them feel comfortable. Orlan is an example of artists using science to convey a meaningful message. 

Sources

Artnet. “ORLAN.” Artnet, 2021, www.artnet.com/artists/orlan/.

Caputo, Joseph. “Bioart: An Introduction.” EurekAlert!, 23 Nov. 2015, www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/cp-bai112315.php.

Clot. “JOE DAVIS, from Microvenus to Astrobiology.” CLOT Magazine, 2021, www.clotmag.com/biomedia/joe-davis.

Editorial, Artsy, and Siobhan Leddy. “How ORLAN Turned Plastic Surgery into Feminist Art.” Artsy, 7 Aug. 2017, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-70-body-modification-artist-orlan-reinventing.

Gibss, Wayt. “Microvenus .” Scientific American: Feature Article: Art as a Form of Life: April 2001, 2018, geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_j_webarchive/davis_profile_sciam/jd.htm.

Jeffries, Stuart. “Orlan's Art of Sex and Surgery.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 July 2009, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/jul/01/orlan-performance-artist-carnal-art.

Kaplan. ORLAN - The Reincarnation of Saint Orlan, 1 Jan. 2010, a-kaplan1417-cop.blogspot.com/2016/04/orlan-reincarnation-of-saint-orlan.html.

Symbioteca. SymbioticA, www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/.