LIFESCIENCE: What is really the role of the art?

[owner-lifescience-en@aec.at]

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ARS ELECTRONICA FESTIVAL 99
LIFESCIENCE
Linz, Austria, September 04 - 09
http://www.aec.at/lifescience
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There was a request for discussion participants to introduce themselves
briefly. I am a biophysicist working in an institution concentrating mostly 
on
basic research in molecular biology and pharmacology. I studied also art
photography and I write on freelance basis to various cultural magazines.
  
To start with, I believe that there is a real world "out there", which is
independent of our interpretation. In this world life had developed
during billions of years to great complexity. We do not understand yet in 
much
details how the evolution really happened and how the whole web of life is
interconnected. Therefore any attempt to gain a control of this system with a
high probability will fail. The "trial and error" method proved to be useful
in solving many scientific tasks. Nevertheless, regarding the web of life,
into which after all we belong, too, we have no chance for couple of errors 
in
our trials - there are no spared Earths around.

Mostly, people strive to understand the world. Science, philosophy AND art 
are
most of the time exploring, analyzing and interpreting the world.

I think it was Karl Marx who said "Until now, philosophers tried to interpret
the world. Now is time to change it." On this notion the biggest disasters of
twentieth century are based: communism and fascism. 

While scientist tried to understand the nature, they advance in spite of
unavoidable mistakes. When they acted before they reached enough insight, we
have got DDT, Contergan, Love Canal, you name it. Life scientists try to
understand the basic principles of life. They did not finish yet, but they 
are
already acting - current controversy over the gene modified food being just
one example.

Artist did interpret world, pointed to certain aspects of it which they found
particularly beautiful, particularly interesting, bizarre, disgusting,
dangerous, repulsive. Audience could take their interpretation, could refuse
it, could misunderstand it, but the interpretation  did not change the world
itself. Art influenced just individual consciences. Its effects on the
thoughts of an individual could have been anything from profound to
superficial, nevertheless, the biological part of the human being was
relatively untouched (suicides after reading Young Werther being rather
exceptional examples). And this changes in audience psyche could have been
undone - even if an assistance of psychotherapist may be needed in extreme
cases.

Now, by constructing life on their own, as suggested e.g. in Eduardo Kac's
project of transgenic art, artists are getting ready to change the world
profoundly. Step from an interpreter to a creator is really a big jump for 
the
mankind. Nevertheless, it is a jump into unknown. By making this step artists
take over enormous responsibility. I am not sure if they realize it.

Metaphor in a short story Tyrannosaurs Rex written by Ray Bradbury is an
appropriate one for this situation. Life on the Earth is enormously complex
system. It may not be robust enough to withstand our experiments. 

Nevertheless, artists are getting ready to change the biological essence of
the individual life form. Will the conscience of biologically altered
individual change? Most importantly, biological change can not be undone. If
any psychological change would follow, it could hardly be undone, too. 

One could perhaps say, that construction of new life forms by artists is just
an extension of design using new technological means. I would object it: if
you want, you can escape "traditional" forms of design simply by ignoring
them, or even by destroying them, if contact was unavoidable. To escape new
"life art design" you may have to abandon a living being which may be
dependent on your care or even you may have to kill living being. The
distinction is enormous

Luba Lacinova
e-dress  lacinova@ipt.med.tu-muenchen.de

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