Recognizing that biotechnology has ramifications for the art world, New York University’s Department of Art and Art Professions will host “Evolving (Un)Naturally? Artists Enter the Biotechnology Debate,” on Fri., Oct. 28, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at NYU’s Einstein Auditorium, First Floor, 34 Stuyvesant Street (Between 3rd and 2nd Avenues at 9th Street).
The panel will explore a range of approaches to biotechnology that includes art as a form of research, of philosophy, and of critique. In addition to traditional media (e.g., installations and representations) and dryware (e.g., digital technologies and visualization tools), artists increasingly use wetware (e.g., biological material) by adopting methodologies of genetic engineering to create new life forms (transgenic art). Artists now employ concepts that envision DNA as “information” and as a “code of life” not just as a metaphor but as a new model of art production that manipulates genetic information.
- WHO: Robert Shapiro, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Senior Research Scientist at NYU; Sammy Cucher, principal at Aziz + Cucher, whose work with digital imaging is considered pioneering in the field; David Joselit, professor in the History of Art Department at Yale; Joe Davis, a research associate at MIT; and Ellen K. Levy, president of the College Art Association (Moderator)
- WHAT: Panel Discussion—“Evolving (Un)Naturally? Artists Enter the Biotechnology Debate”
- WHEN: Fri., Oct. 28, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- WHERE: NYU’s Einstein Auditorium, First Floor, 34 Stuyvesant Street (Between 3rd and 2nd Avenues at 9th Street) [Subway Lines: 6 (Lafayette/Broadway); N, R, W (8th Street)]
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, email tammy.brown@nyu.edu or call 212.998.5799. Reporters interested in attending the event should contact James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The Department of Art and Art Professions at NYU’s Steinhardt School is committed to the construction of new knowledge through the creation of innovative art and academic research that envisions new ways for the visual arts to transform society. Students, practicing artists, educators, and art professionals work together in a richly interactive, multidisciplinary community that fosters imaginative art-making and intellectual exchange.