Unit 6: BioTech & Art

An interesting point that arises is how technology finds its way into other areas. Of course there's the example of genetic engineering finding its way into the realm, but it goes further. Even trends and approaches used in technology influence this mixture of biology and art. As described in Chris Kelty's "Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology?", there exists this perspective of a hacker culture when it comes to biotech and art. Normally the term hacker is associated with engineers, yet the ideas are able to be applied elsewhere. Another example of this is Roger Brent and the idea of "open science" which serves as an analogy to open-source software that we see in the realm of computer science.

Genetic Engineering

The same applies in the other direction. As described by Ellen K. Levy in "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classification" programmers have created machine code that evolves. Perhaps the applicability between concentrations shows how intertwined everything is. This can be seen in the form of what are called digital organisms, which are programs that go through process of self-replication, mutation, and adaptation through natural selection like organisms in the real world.

Black and White Digital Organism

We should keep this in mind when it comes to the relationship between biotech and art. Like other mixtures, it still revolves around similarities between biology and art to be able to explore novel ideas similar to other combinations we've studied such as robotics and art. The main reason for controversies in this specific subject revolve around the involvement of living creatures. Although this boils down to a debate regarding ethics, I believe that the intention is the same as is in other blends between the sciences and the arts.

Lab Rat

Bibliography

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Condliffe, Jamie. Genetic Engineering. Digital image. The Super Protein That Can Cut DNA and Revolutionize Genetic Engineering. Gizmodo, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://gizmodo.com/5991488/the-super-protein-that-can-cut-dna-and-revolutionize-genetic-engineering>.

Kelty, Chris. "Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology?"

Kim, Yunchul. Black and White Digital Organism. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.khm.de/~tre/void.htm>.

Lab Rat. Digital image. My Life as a Lab Rat. Salon Media Group Inc., 24 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.salon.com/2011/11/24/my_life_as_a_lab_rat/>.

Lenski, Richard, Charles Ofria, Travis Collier, and Christoph Adami. "Genome Complexity, Robustness and Genetic Interactions in Digital Organisms."Nature 400 (1999): 661-64. Nature.com. Web. 10 May 2015.

Levy Ellen K. "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications."

Vesna, Victoria. “Biotech Part 1.” Lecture. Youtube, 10 May. 2015. Web. 18 Sep. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Biotech Part 2.” Lecture. Youtube, 10 May. 2015. Web. 17 May 2012. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&t=231&v=MdSt-Hjyi2I>.