mama ABSTRACTS:
Abstract:
The Aesthetics of Genetic Engineering
Sophia Vackimes
At the beginning of the twentieth century, two main technologies with quite diverse tactics and therefore aesthetics seek preeminence in replacing missing body parts. One is the mechanical solution, exemplified by titanium arms, legs, pacemakers, etc; and the other one, is the organic solution, the genetic engineering solution. One, the first, has found a certain amount of visual outlet in science fiction films, and in artworks ranging from cinematic masterpieces such as Metropolis, the second, not yet heroic deals with the body as capable of regenerating, or being perfected via genetic modification.It is here that my main concerns lie, in the realm of the genetically engineered body. The genetic recombination of traits has become a tour de force in the scientific world, if now on discursive terms, eventually in reality, and artists such as Gerhard Lang, Eva Sutton, and Mathew Barney comment on these scientific propositions. The nature of the comments varies from one artist to another, for example, sometimes the exchange of one body part for another, beautified by the prowess of engineering and quasi photo-shop perfect surgery, seems to bear no great consequence to the question, What is human?, but at other times the changes in human nature as these artists perceive them are quite dramatic. When we analyze these images, what are they saying about the relationship between society and science?
