| ..................... | ...... | Art Statement |
..... | ||||
| HOME
FAQ
|
|
|
|||||
| A few contemporary artists have been responding to this change and are already working with modified bacteria, interspecies communication, and hybridization techniques to redefine the boundaries between the artwork and living organisms. As genetic engineering continues to be developed in the safe harbor of scientific rationalism, nourished by global capital, it unfortunately remains partially sheltered from social issues, ethical parameters, and historical context. The patenting of new animals created in the lab and of genes of foreign peoples are particularly complex topics -- a situation often aggravated, in the human case, by the lack of consent, equal benefit, or even understanding of the processes of appropriation, patent, and profit on the part of the donor. Since 1980 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) granted several transgenic animal patents, including five patents for transgenic mice, one patent for a transgenic rabbit, and three patents covering all transgenic nonhuman animals. Recently the debate over animal patents has broadened to encompass patents on genetically engineered human cell lines and synthetic constructs (e.g., "plasmids") incorporating human genes. The use of genetics in art offers a reflection on these new developments from a social and ethical point of view. It foregrounds related relevant issues such as the domestic and social integration of transgenic animals, arbitrary delineation of the concept of "normalcy" through genetic testing, enhancement and therapy, and the serious dangers of eugenics. The use of genetics in art also opens up a whole new world of possibilities to artists committed to the investigation of the cultural impact of new technologies. Transgenic art, I propose, is a new art form based on the use of genetic engineering techniques to transfer synthetic genes to an organism or to transfer natural genetic material from one species into another, to create unique living beings. Molecular genetics allows the artist to engineer the plant and animal genome and create new life forms. The nature of this new art is defined not only by the birth and growth of a new plant or animal but above all by the nature of the relationship between artist, public, and transgenic organism. Transgenic artworks can be taken home by the public to be grown in the backyard or raised as human companions. With at least one endangered species becoming extinct every day, I suggest that artists can contribute to increase global biodiversity by inventing new life forms. There is no transgenic art without a firm commitment to and responsibility for the new life form thus created. Ethical concerns are paramount in any artwork, and they become more crucial than ever in the context of biological art, when a real living being is the artwork itself. From the perspective of interspecies communication, transgenic art calls for a dialogical relationship between artist, creature/artwork, and those who come in contact with it. As we try to negotiate current disputes, it is clear that transgenesis will be an integral part of our existence in the future. Transgenic crops will be a predominant part of the landscape. Transgenic animals will populate the farm and will become part of our expanded family. For better or worse, vegetables and animals we eat will never be the same. Genetically altered soybeans, potatoes, corn, squash, and cotton have been widely planted since 1995. Current development of "plantibodies," i.e., human genes transplanted into corn, soy, tobacco, and other plants to produce acres of pharmaceutical-quality antibodies, promises cheap and abundant much needed proteins. While in many cases research and marketing strategies place profit above health, in others biotechnology seems to offer real promises of healing in areas presently difficult to treat effectively. The Ars Electronica network debate will discuss the complex and fascinating relationship between biology and art in the larger context of related social, political, and ethical issues. | |||||||