Week 6 Blog Assignment

This week our discussion was focused on biotechnology in relation to art. I find it very interesting to see how the fascination with nature held by artists can be translated into an art form in which nature literally becomes the artwork. It is truly amazing to see what can be made possible with the power of biotechnology. Being able to manipulate life to fit our vision of what it should be is a very powerful idea that brings along with it some great ethical concerns. 


For example, the bioluminescent bunny, mentioned in lectures, that was created as an art piece raised many questions about the ethics of manipulating the genes of living animals as a form of art. Animal rights activists claim the practice to be unnecessary and unethical, and even scientists find projects like the glowing bunny to be silly. However, no matter your stance on ethics, the implications of biotechnology are undeniable. With the ability to manipulate the genes of living organisms, life can take whatever form we see fit. In this sense, life itself can become the canvas on which we can create anything we can imagine. 

Bioluminescent Bunny 

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Biotechnology’s effect on art is very interesting, but we must take into account that this technology can result in much more than a glow-in-the-dark bunny. Being able to choose and edit genes allows us to choose the appearance, and even characteristics of humans. This could be used to achieve the most aesthetic features, or possibly even to give a person superpowers! The question we must ask is where do we draw the line? 

Standards of Beauty (left), Superman (right)

Bella Hadid is the most beautiful woman in the world because her face shape, lips and chin are 'perfect', according to the' Golden Ratio' equation

Superman and Lois on Twitter | Superman lois, Superman costumes, Superman suit













Resources

Flood, Rebecca. “BELLE OF THE BALL Bella Hadid is the most beautiful woman in the world because her face shape, lips and chin are ‘perfect’, according to the’ Golden Ratio’ equation.” The Sun, 2019, https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/10139459/bella-hadid-most-beautiful-woman-world-beauty-phi-face-perfect/. Accessed 7 May 2021.

“Glow In The Dark Rabbit? -- Mind Blow #70.” YouTube, Vsauce2, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWhCiIIjRbE. Accessed 7 May 2021.

“How Gene Editing Will Change The World.” YouTube, Tech Vision, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trjPZKmxMJI. Accessed 7 May 2021.

“Introduction to Biotechnology | Don't Memorise.” YouTube, Don't Memorise, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrTCjp2015M. Accessed 7 May 2021.

Sean, Eric. “Superman and Lois on Twitter.” Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/518406607111951629/. Accessed 7 May 2021.




Comments

  1. Howard EisslerMay 9, 2021 at 11:48 AM

    Donovan,

    I like how you related the applications of biotechnology and art with the ethical concerns as well. It will be super interesting to see where the line is drawn between ethical versus non-ethical. I wrote my blog about a similar topic and was curious for where the line would be drawn when experimenting with possible life-changing technologies that could also kill organisms in the development. This will for sure be a topic of debate as our tech. increases.

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  2. Jonathan HoltMay 9, 2021 at 12:29 PM

    Hi Donovan,

    I really enjoyed your blog! Particularly, the concept that you discussed about biotech allows the body to be a canvas for art was super interesting. It was also interesting how you touched on the ethics of biotech and art as biotech can allow us to choose characteristics of humans. I definitely agree that as biotech becomes more advanced it will be a great debate within our society about its use and regulation because it has amazing potential to shape art and culture but also there are many complications that can arise from the tech. Overall good blog, it was very insightful and touched on a ton of the concepts about the ethics of biotechnology that I talked about in my blog as well!

    ReplyDelete

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