WEEK 6: BIOTECH + ART


BioArt was an entirely novel topic for me and the works shown in the lectures were absolutely fascinating. Artists have always been fascinated with the human body both as an object in works such as sculptures and also as a artistically beautiful system itself (Getty) - Da Vinci's anatomical sketches show that the complexities of the body enamored artists (Clayton). Learning about people like Joe Davis widened my perspective on artists' admiration of biology and showed that BioArt can now involve organisms rather than just use them as subjects - reading up about him cemented my agreement with Professor Vesna deeming him a pioneer in the field (Vesna).

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci

However Joe Davis' work also raises the question of BioArt being unethical in some instances. He attempted to place the map of the Milky Way in a transgenic mouse's ear, which other than sounding mind-boggling also illuminates the risk such art places to the organisms that are used as the canvas (Hussain 2000). Art is supposed to be something that entices human admiration and inquisitiveness; using live animals for art pieces does not lead to any scientific breakthroughs but appears more as a gimmick with big probable downside which is the animals being harmed. While some artists might argue that their endeavor to use animals for art is no different from Burger King using them for meals (Kaplan 2017), it is important to note that if art is being justified by its utility to humans, then one must also consider the number of people being disheartened by the use of innocent animals as evidence of some disutility existing as well. 

Away from the Flock by Damien Hirst - an art piece
that raised several ethical debates

BioArt is certainly a field with potential for exciting art but actual living organisms cannot be treated with the same attitude reserved for paint and pieces of paper. It would be interesting to know more about whether the use of colors derived from nature (i.e., no chemicals) can also be considered a form of BioArt. 

Blood Picture by Hermann Nitsch - a painting that uses actual human blood






Hussain. “Science as Art Unites Disciplines.” The Tech - Online Edition,

http://tech.mit.edu/V120/N26/bioartists.26f.html.

“Leonardo Da Vinci: Anatomist.” @Rct, 2000, www.rct.uk/collection/themes/publications/leonardo-da-vinci-anatomist.

Vesna, Victoria. “Lecture Part 1” BioTech+Art | Lectures.

              https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/129896/pages/unit-6-view?module_item_id=4852527


“It Takes Artists and Scientists to Understand the Human Body.” Www.getty.edu, www.getty.edu/news/it-takes-artists-and-scientists-to-understand-the-human-body/.

‌Kaplan, Isaac. “When Is It Okay to Use Animals in Art?” Artsy, 11 May 2017.

‌Da Vinci, Leonardo. Vitruvian Man, 1490.

‌Nitsch, Hermann. Blood Picture, 1962.

‌Hirst, Damien. Away from the Flock, 1994.

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Comments

  1. Kaushik NareshMay 7, 2022 at 11:22 PM

    The ethics of BioArt definitely seems to pop up pretty often, and seems to be central to the art form. It was interesting to see the opinion that this is nothing different than the use of meat by Burger King, however, as you mentioned, in terms of what justifies art, the comparison does seem to waver a bit. Nonetheless, as movements such as veganism grow and questions about our use of animals in any capacity continue to pop up, it will be interesting to see how BioArt and its artists continue to grow and create.

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