Week 6 Blog Post

In examining BioTech and art I look at the questions provided in relation to Ruth West. 
  • Is life itself a valid expressive medium?
  • How do we define and value artistic media and technologies?
  • And ultimately, are there (or should there be) limits to human creativity?

Victimless Leather
via TCA Project
In trying to answer these questions is it important to understand the definitions of both biotech and art, and the fluidity of both of them. Biotech is the pairing of "cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet" (Bio). As mentioned frequently throughout my various blogs, art is expression through various mediums. Its definition is fluid and I find the definition of biotech to be equally as fluid as well. The intersection of the two is seen through many different displays. The Museum of Modern Art in New York, actually has its own bioart exhibit-- in a leather jacket was made using living mouse tissue. Researchers then tracked the cell growth of the tissue and were able to identify the rapid increase in cell count and ultimately stop the exhibit (Delgado). 

BulletProof Skin
via DesignBoom 




Similar to "Victimless Leather" other examples of biotech and art can be seen in mass media settings. "Bulletproof skin" was a popular example of the bioart that gained lots of attention. Bulletproof skin was designed using spider silk and human skin cells-- the combination of the two proved to reduce the rate in which bullets traveled through skin and in some cases stopped the entrance into the body (Delgado). This innovation is representative of how art can show and question different normatives in science and push it past its boundaries. 

So to answer Ruth West's questions, life can be considered an expressive medium. Through living and breathing organisms we are able to see and understand life at its purest form. Artistic medias and technologies are revered in many cases because of its ability to push past boundaries of current thought. And lastly, creativity should be limited only in the case of it harming others. 

Regenerative Reliquary
Via Amy Karle 

 Sources:

“Bulletproof Skin Made from Spider Silk Proteins and Human Skin Cells.” Designboom, 6 Mar. 2013, www.designboom.com/art/fusing-skin-cells-with-spider-silk-for-bullet-proof-skin-by-jalila-essaidi/.

Delgado, Rick. “How Artists Are Blending Biotechnology And Art.” MakeUseOf, 8 May 2015, www.makeuseof.com/tag/artists-blending-biotechnology-art/.

“Regenerative Reliquary.” Amy Karle, www.amykarle.com/project/regenerative-reliquary/.

“Victimless Leather.” The Tissue Culture & Art Project, 2004, tcaproject.net/portfolio/victimless-leather/.

“What Is Biotechnology?” BIO, www.bio.org/what-biotechnology.



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