Eduardo Kac Readings
In the Introduction of his book, Signs of Life, editor Eduardo Kac explores the modern applications of new technologies and the attitudes with which society meets them. Pointing out the contrast between society’s acceptance of technologies such as in-vitro fertilization and its discomfort with—even fear of—other technologies that involve manipulating life, Kac concludes that what we consider to be “natural” is entirely subjective. While Kac illuminates society’s false divisions between what is “normal” versus “deviant,” he concedes that new technologies do present moral, medical, political, and even economic dilemmas.
After exploring the “Ecological art movement” of the 1960s and 70s, which capitalized on the use of human body fluids in art, Kac goes on to explain the meaning of “transgenic art”. “Transgenic art” is considered to be “the manipulation of biological materials at discrete levels,” meaning the use of small components of life such as proteins, cells, genes, and nucleotides to create art in the form of new life. Having defined transgenic art, Kac finally moves into exploring its potential to not only impact the art world but to have real-world applications as well. In his description of the book Biotech Culture, Kac explains that while new technologies are becoming sources of inspiration, they are simultaneously and inevitably creating issues of ethics. Kac believes that we are moving into a world in which “technology increasingly shapes cultural sensibility.” In essence, biotechnologies serve to inspire both great art and great public debate.
In Chapter Ten of his book, Kac further explains the meaning and significance of transgenic art, focusing more on his personal experiences with the field. Kac begins by explaining that his work with transgenic art is a culmination of his experience as an artist. He then explains that “Bio art” is better thought of as “Bio agency” than as “Bio objecthood,” which I took to mean that bio art’s purpose is to create an experience that serves a purpose, rather than to create an object that may or may not inspire thoughtful discourse.
Having previewed his experiences with transgenic art, Kac then delves deeper into projects he has worked on, including “Genesis”, “GFP Bunny”, and “The Eighth Day”, and “Move 36,” all of which were connected in their goals. I found Genesis particularly interesting. The idea of physically creating a gene by translating a sentence from the Book of Genesis in the Bible into a genetic code and then constructing a protein from that code is fascinating to me because it physically acted out what the Bible argues occurred in the process of Creation. Using the “word of God” to create a new life is powerful in and of itself; however, the project was even more significant in my opinion because it inspires inquiry into humanity’s true purpose in relation to nature. The sentence Kac chose to use—“Let man have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth,”—begs the question of whether the Christian doctrine must adapt in order to survive the modern world. In today’s world, where the common media message is that humanity is ruining the earth, this ancient message from the Bible rings ominously. Ultimately humans have the power over other life on earth, for better or for worse, and it is for this reason Genesis is such a provocative project. Genesis proves just how much control we have over other life, thereby inevitably inspiring another round of ethical and political debate.
While reading Kac’s work, I found myself thinking back to some of the topics my genetics class has discussed. Through that class, I have had the opportunity to learn about how scientists manipulate genes for the purposes of treating genetic diseases and creating vaccines. Having seen the real-world benefits biotechnology, I was surprised to read about its applications with relation to the art world. I would have never considered manipulating a gene or creating a new species of plant a form of art. However, going back to the definition of art we came up with as a class earlier in the semester, if “good art” is what inspires thought and contemplation, transgenic art is as good an art as any other we have studied.
Three Questions that came to mind while I was reading these selections:
1. With the advances in both science and bio-art, do you feel that we are re-defining what is “natural?”
2. What do you feel Kac’s purpose was in creating his works of art?
3. Do you feel that humanity has too much control over the fate of the world and other living creatures? Do you feel we are equipt to handle this responsibility?