Week 6: Biotech/Bio


       

            Before this week, I had never heard of or been taught about different biotechnologies. In the Lecture, we learned that Biotech can be a controversial topic in today’s society with GMOs, animal testing, and hybrids having many pros and cons to each side. I found Stelarc’s “third ear” most interesting as he used the third ear as a performance of body jewelry. He got ear cartilage surgically placed under the skin on his forearm. Stelarc’s goal is to put a microphone into the third ear, so it will be fully a functional organ with stem cells partly growing in the ear. With this Stelarc can “listen into what’s happening in other parts of the world”(Fernandez).  Life is a valid expressive medium because, like Stelarc, humans have the free will to do almost anything which is almost artistic. Though I do not know if I think putting a “third ear” in the arm of a human being is necessary, there should not be limits to human creativity. Some may disagree, but the world needs people like Davis and Zaretsky to be creative because they are paving the way for others in Biotech. Creativity is something special that can help us do extraordinary things, so it should not be limited or taken away. 




Works Cited

Cascone, Sarah. “Artist Grow Third Ear to Let the Internet Listen In on His Life.”Artnet, Aug 

2015, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artist-stelarc-grows-third-ear-324745 

FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), “SK-Interface”, 2015, 

https://www.orlan.eu/works/bio-art/. 

Fernandez, Clara R. “Stelarc – Making Art out of the Human Body.” Labiotech.eu, Oct 2018, 

https://www.labiotech.eu/trends-news/stelarc-ear-art-human-body/. 

“Scientist? Artist. Pirate! Who is Joe Davis?”. Youtube, uploaded by NOVA PBS Official, Sept. 

2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GkZt00Qics 

Solon, Olivia. “Bioart: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Using Living Tissue as a Medium”. 

Wired.com. Jul. 2011, https://www.wired.com/2011/07/bioart/ 

Snyder, Jon. “Ear on Arm”. Wired.com, May 2012, 

https://www.wired.com/2012/05/stelarc-performance-art/. 

Vesna, Victoria. “5 BioArt pt4”. Youtube, uploaded by UC Online, May 

2012,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qSc72u9KhI&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7

&t=4s.

Young, Emma. “Mutant Bunny” NewScientist.com, Sept 2000, 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16-mutant-bunny/. 

Comments

  1. Jessica BerejikianMay 8, 2022 at 2:16 PM

    Hi Megan!

    I love your take on the intersection between biotechnology and art. Particularly, I appreciate the last few sentences that mention the need for people like Davis and Zaretsky because they bring a new perspective to the unexplored world of art and biotech. I agree with you that creativity is something that is nearly impossible to put boundaries around and therefore should not have any— the point of creativity is to explore self expression.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Juan LarsonMay 8, 2022 at 10:50 PM

    I appreciated and agree with your last few statements regarding the necessity to have people leading the frontier in terms of innovation and constantly driving for change. The common feature of everything that we have learned so far this quarter is that creativity and art are the driving force behind a lot, if not most, of science and technology.

    ReplyDelete

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