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| Joe Davis https://www.biosummit.org/joe-davis |
I found it fascinating how art can be used as a vehicle to understand bio-technology. Artists have found a place for themselves in the world of modern science. I want to focus on the positive aspects of bio-technology and art and how artists are attempting to use this medium in order to have impact upon society. For example, the artist Joe Davis who is a pioneer in bio-art, formulated an experiment to see how E.coli bacteria would respond to jazz music. He is one of the artists "...whose medium is the science of molecular biology" (Hussain). The findings showed that "If the sound waves prove stressful to the bacteria, the stress might result in increased production of antibiotics"(Davis). This demonstrated how an art form such as music can play an instrumental role in the medical field.
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| E.coli bacteria https://www.livescience.com/64436-e-coli.html |
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| Fish and Chips http://www.fishandchips.uwa.edu.au/project/Emma_text.pdf |
Another example of this was the Fish and Chips project, which was devised in the Symbiotica Laboratory in Western Australia. A robotic arm was created by "the activity of gold fish neurons to produce art" (Vesna). The researchers wanted to study the motion of gold fish neurons, so they used drawing as a way to track their movement. It is incredible how they were able to successfully produce 2D drawings from nerve cells.
Overall I think the interplay of art and biotechnology can be be extremely beneficial because it can assist in the development of further technologies to "aid and extend human abilities" (Vesna). Scientists as mentioned, have used art to make scientific discoveries. Art can be a tool, which connects humans to science.
Sources:
Vesna, Victoria. “Part II.” YouTube, 26 Mar. 2012, youtu.be/Fvp924_pbgc.
Levy, Ellen K. “Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications.”
Sandhana, Lakshmi. “The Art of Rat-Powered Pigs Wings.” Wired, Conde Nast, 4 June 2017, www.wired.com/2002/05/the-art-of-rat-powered-pigs-wings/.
“Science as Art Unites Disciplines.” The Tech - Online Edition, tech.mit.edu/V120/N26/bioartists.26f.html.
Davis, Joe, and Katie Egan. Audio Microscope: Joe Davis : Genetics and Culture, 2000, geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_audio_scope.htm.
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