Week 6 | BioTech + Art | Livier Monarrez

Human creativity involves endless forms of applying the disciplines of biology, technology, and art intertwined. Throughout our living experiences, we can see how the discoveries in science and technology have become available for art (Davis). Science and art are not discriminate from each other but rather go together to make new technological inventions (Vesna). For example, artistic technologies can be valued by applying biology, such as the works by Joe Davis, who is an Artist-Scientist from Church’s lab at Harvard Medical School. He created biotechnology through the influences of artistic imagination leading to being the very first to develop bio-metalized silk, which can be used to take heavy metals from contaminated groundwater (Davis). Davis' creativity is fascinating and helped me become knowledgeable about how art helps us understand science. Therefore, artists and scientists should be able to freely use biotechnology as they both can contribute to its development. 


Davis, Joe. "Illustration Of The Anatomy Of Silk.”  Mediamatic, 2006,
https://www.mediamatic.net/en/page/89160/illustration-of-the-anatomy-of-silk.

Artists should freely express their creativity when manipulating organisms as it can create a new life and art forms without harm, such as artists who created transgenic mice (Vesna). Additionally, the transgenic artist Eduardo Kac intertwined the understanding of genetics, organism, and environment with the disciplines of art, science, and technology by providing an artistic biotechnology work known as the fluorescent bunny. Kac can imagine beyond genome purity at the genome level and develop the GFB Bunny named Alba by integrating a transgene of green fluorescent protein into the host genome with zygote microinjection. This artistic practice does not harm the living organism as these molecular biology tools are well established and known, and the “fluorescent protein is harmless to the rabbit” (Kac). 



Chicago Humanities Festival. "Eduardo Kac: Transgenic Artist." 2013, https://youtu.be/3LSJVD0m1Mg. Accessed 6 May 2022.


If we limit human creativity to using biotechnology, it will prohibit the development of inventions like the Revival Field. The bio artist, Mel Chin, constructed a site’s ecology in Minnesota by using hyperaccumulator plants that pick up heavy metals from our contaminated soil. Chin’s bio artwork would provide green remediation on-site, providing a cost-friendly remediation method and successful experiment (Chin). 



Chin, Mel. "Revival Field” — Art21." Art21, 2022, https://art21.org/read/mel-chin-revival-field/. 



Chin, Mel. "Revival Field – Mel Chin." Melchin.Org, 2014, http://melchin.org/oeuvre/revival-field/. 


Davis, Joe. “Scientist? Artist. Pirate! Who Is Joe Davis?” NOVA PBS Official, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GkZt00Qics. Accessed 6 May 2022. 


Kac, Eduardo. "GFP BUNNY. " Ekac.Org, 2018, http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor. 


Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt3.” Youtube.Com, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EpD3np1S2g&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&t=322s. 


Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt5.” Youtube.Com, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7zHIdsFS3A&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&t=165s. 



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