By actively participating in genetic manipulation or other biotechnological art forms, artists such as Eduardo Kac, and Orlan try to see science from other perspectives- ultimately its implications on how we value life. Some of these points are covered below.
How we value non human life
One quite from Eduardo Kac's GPF Bunny with respect to his work really stood out to me- "This must be done with great care, with acknowledgment of the complex issues thus raised and, above all, with a commitment to respect, nurture, and love the life thus created." Many domestic animals are looked at as objects- whether lab rats or ill-treated pets. The discussion of genetic manipulations is part of how we value non-human life, and seeing animals as individuals that we can learn a lot from. This Ted Talk touches on some things that are related to understanding our relationship with animals.
How we value human qualities and diversity
Orlan's art brings up questions of how we value human life, looking at aesthetic beauty. In an interview, she says, "Beauty is the product of the dominant ideology.... This is very relevant also in all the beauty standarts out of occident that I am interested in and that I question in my work." Physical aesthetics has always been a controversial part of humanity, both idolizing it and trying to make it insignificant. This Ted Talk gives some insight into evolutionary aspects of aesthetics.
The future of genetics with respect to attributes such as intelligence, beauty, and physical capabilities has a huge question mark. If we can control the human genome, should we? Who would these procedures be available to? How will it affect our society around the world, and how we value a human life? With so much diversity in our world, we try to cultivate respect and value for everyone, but how does the game change when we can control the genetic lottery?
Sources:
TED. "Dennis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty." Online video clip. YouTube. Nov 16. 2010. Web. May 10 2015.
TED. "Laurel Braitman: Depressed dogs, cats with OCD - what animal madness means for us humans." Online video clop. YouTube. Aug 21. 2014. Web. May 10 2015.
Orlan. "ORLAN Talks Plastic Surgery, Beauty Standards And Giving Her Fat To Madonna." Huffington Post. Jan 29. 2013. Web. May 10 2015.
Kac, Eduardo. "GFP Bunny." KAC. 2000. Web. May 10 2015.
"Jurassic Park". Steven Spielberg. Perf. Jeff Goldblum. Universial Pictures, 1993. DVD.
Photo from: Panda Whale, Adam Rifkin <http://pandawhale.com/post/59968/your-scientists-were-so-preoccupied-with-whether-they-could-that-they-didnt-stop-to-think-if-they-should-dr-ian-malcolm-jurassic-park>
I agree with some of the artists in the lecture - there should be progression of the biotech industry to genetically manipulate animals to further our understanding of science. However, when it comes down to manipulating genes for art, I think that a line should be drawn at certain levels of animals, especially those that we recognize as having cognition such as primates and other higher form animals.
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