Art and Genetics

Joe Davis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Dana Boyd, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Hunter O'Reilly, University of Wisconsin Parkside, Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Marek Wieczorek, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Published online: September 2006

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005868

A growing group of artists is addressing controversial developments in genetics and genomic research. Many of these artists represent social, political or ethical implications of this research in a broad variety of art forms.

Keywords: GFP bunny; DNA graphy; microvenus; supercode; silent code

Figure 1. Microvenus symbol.
Figure 2. Microvenus symbol, coded into a 35-bit binary sequence and arranged into a 7-bit by 5-bit array that graphically maps into the shape of the icon.
Figure 3. Delbrück code. Max Delbrück used these codon-to-alphabetical assignments to encode the sentence, I am the riddle of life know me and you will know yourself.
Figure 4. DNA supercode.
Figure 5. Amino acid and silent codes.
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 References
    Andrews L (2000) Art – weird science. Chicago Magazine 92(6): 22–24.
    Annick B (2002) Biological Art: Retrospective/Gallery. Art Press 276: 44–50. Paris, France.
    Davis J (1996) Microvenus. Art Journal 55(1): 70–74.
    book Davis J (2000) "Romance, supercodes and the Milky Way DNA". In: Stocker G and Schopf C (eds.) Ars Electronica 2000 Catalog: Next Sex, pp. 217–235. Vienna, Austria: Springer-Verlag.
    Gedrim RJ (1993) Edward Steichen's 1936 exhibition of delphinium blooms. History of Photography 17: 352–363.
    Gessert G (1999) On exhibiting hybrids. Circa 90(Art and Technology Supplement): s08–s09.
    book Kac E (1999). "Genesis". In: Stocker G and Schopf C (eds.) Ars Electronica 1999 – Life Science, pp. 310–313. Vienna/New York, NY: Springer.
    book Kac E (2001) "Bio art: proteins, transgenics, and biobots/Biokunst: proteine, transgenik und bioboter". In: Stocker G and Schopf S (eds.) Ars Electronica 2001 Catalog: TAKEOVER – Who's Doing the Art of Tomorrow?/Wer macht die Kunst von morgen? pp. 118–124. Vienna, Austria: Springer-Verlag.
    Kemp M (2000) Science in culture. Nature 403: 364.
    Nadis S (1995) Genetic art builds cryptic bridge between two cultures. Nature 378: 229.
    Nadis S (2000) Science for arts sake. Nature 407: 668–670.
    book Queiroz IP (2002) A Biologia Ao Servico Da Arte. A Capital 19 May 2002. Lisbon, Portugal.
    Travis J (2000) Genes on display: DNA becomes part of the artist's palette. Science News 158: 392–394.
    Wayt Gibbs W (2001) Art as a form of life. Scientific American April 2001; pp. 37–39.
    Youngs AM (2000) Fine art of creating life. Leonardo 33: 377–380.
 Further Reading
    Art and the Genetic Code (1996) Art Journal 55(1). [This whole issue was devoted to ‘Art and the Genetic Code’, representing an early example of an art journal addressing issues of art and genetics.]
    book Beadle GW and Beadle M (1966) The Language of Life: An Introduction to the Science of Genetics. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
    book Burnham J (1968) Beyond Modern Sculpture: The Effects of Science and Technology on the Sculpture of this Century, 1st edn. New York, NY: George Braziller.
    book Fischer EP and Lipson C (1988) Thinking about Science: Max Delbrück and the Origins of Molecular Biology. New York, NY: Norton.
    book Pollan M (2001) The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-eye View of the World. New York, NY: Random House.
 Web Links
    ePath Ars Electronica. Ars Electronica Festivals 1999–2000 featuring the works of Kac (1999) and Davis (2000) http://www.aec.at
    ePath Burpee Seed Grow. Delphiniums Steichen Strain. Edward Steichen's mutagenized delphiniums are still sold as ‘Steichen Strain’ delphiniums http://www.burpee.com/shopping/search/searchresultsmain.jsp?catID=159&page=1&productID=376
    ePath Eduardo Kac. A description of all of Eduardo Kac's artworks is included in this website http://www.ekac.org/
    ePath Gene(sis): Contempory Art Explores Human Genomics. Homepage of the exhibition Gene(sis): Contemporary Art explores Humans Genomics http://www.gene-sis.net/home.html
    ePath Microvenus. Davis' original manuscript on the Microvenus project can be downloaded here http://sugarmegs.org/joedavis.doc
    ePath On Exhibiting Hybrids. George Gessert's webpage http://indigo.ie/~circa/c90/supple/8.html
    ePath Paradise Now. Homepage of the exhibition Paradise Now including links to information about the work of Dan Harvey, Heather Acroyd, Natalie Jeremijenko, others http://www.geneart.org/pn-home.htm
    ePath Paradise Now Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey http://www.geneart.org/ackroyd2.htm
    ePath The SmArt Gene or Are We Not Alone in the Aesthetic Universe? Wieczorek's critical essay on genetic art http://www.gene-sis.net/essays/wieczorek_essay.pdf

Related Sub-Topics:

Philosophy of the Life Sciences | General Genetics and Disease | Science and Society - General
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Article Title: Art and Genetics
 
How to Cite close
Davis, Joe, Boyd, Dana, O'Reilly, Hunter, and Wieczorek, Marek(Sep 2006) Art and Genetics. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005868]