Transgenic Art. The new nature as aestheticization of life. My paper is online.
The New and History art*science 2017/Leonardo 50 Proceedings.
Pier Luigi Capucci, Giorgio Cipolletta (eds.)
Transgenic Art. The new nature as aestheticization of life. My paper is online.
The New and History art*science 2017/Leonardo 50 Proceedings.
Pier Luigi Capucci, Giorgio Cipolletta (eds.)
Il mio articolo “Transgenic art: Creativity in the era of genetic engineering” è ora disponibile sulla rivista scientifica “Technoetic Arts” (15.2) diretta da Roy Ascott.
My article “Transgenic art: Creativity in the era of genetic engineering” is now available in the scientific journal “Technoetic Arts” (15.2) edited by Roy Ascott.
Il 4 luglio, in occasione della conferenza scientifica art*science 2017/Leonardo 50 – Il Nuovo e la Storia / The New and History (Bologna, 3 – 5 luglio 2017), presenterò una ricerca dal titolo “Transgenic Art. The new nature as aestheticization of life”. Ecco il programma
On July 4, I will present a research entitled “Transgenic Art. The new nature as aestheticization of life”. The appointment is part of the scientific conference art*science 2017/Leonardo 50 – Il Nuovo e la Storia / The New and History. The event will take place in Bologna from 3 to 5 July 2017. Here is the program
Transgenic Art. Creativity in the Era of Genetic Engineering
Abstract
The spread of biotechnology and genetic engineering has developed a new creative thinking in the context of contemporary visual culture where art, science and life evolve into a network of interdependence. Starting from that, the paper analyses the works of important artists who, from the late nineties of the twentieth century, have modeled genetic material to create artistic works. These transgenic representations become a metaphor for cultural hybridisation. They are places of transaction that contradict their documentary size, losing the concept of memory, narration and storage. Artistic objects are replaced by the evanescence of aesthetics, reconsidering the relationship between image and information. This study goes beyond the boundaries of art, trying to understand the reasons of the crisis of its representation. Focusing attention on transgenic art means to say that the artist as a scientist, not only is able to change life, but to reinvent it completely. Attention is also given to mixtures of the various ontological categories where bodies are connected to machines in an intimate or hidden way, questioning the idea of nature and the concept of life. This proposal will try to answer the following questions: how has molecular biology influenced the development of contemporary art? Who is the artist today and what are the new areas of inquiry?
Il 27 maggio presenterò alla Ionian University di Corfù (Grecia) una ricerca dal titolo “Transgenic Art. Creativity in the Era of Genetic Engineering”. L’appuntamento è parte della conferenza scientifica “Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art and Science” che si svolgerà dal 26 al 28 maggio 2017. Ecco il programma.
On May 27, I will present a research entitled “Transgenic Art. Creativity in the Era of Genetic Engineering” at Ionian University of Corfu (Greece). The appointment is part of the scientific conference “Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art and Science”, which will take place from 26 to 28 May 2017. Here is the program.
My submission “Transgenic Art. Creativity in the Era of Genetic Engineering” for the Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art and Science Conference [2017], has been accepted for presentation by the Scientific and Artistic Committee.
26 – 28 May 2017, Ionian University, Corfu Greece.
See you in Corfu!
Arshake rilancia – tradotta in italiano – la mia intervista a Yiannis Melanitis. L’artista greco, in collaborazione con Matina Papagiannarou, ha realizzato una farfalla umanizzata, Leda Melanitis.
Su “Postinterface” puoi leggere la mia intervista a Yiannis Melanitis. L’artista greco sta creando una farfalla umanizzata chiamata “Leda Melanitis”.
Transgenic art. Leda Melanitis butterfly. Mario Savini’s interview with Yiannis Melanitis
Abstract
Transgenic Art. Life is the medium
An increasingly noticeable trend is the gradual shift within the scope of contemporary aesthetic research from experimenting new languages to experimenting relationships and relational dimensions. Drawing from this research line, the aim of this paper is to explore the key developments in the field of art resulting from the use of genetic engineering. A critical reading from a historical perspective will retrace the various stages of this radical “cultural redefinition” from its beginnings until today.
Comparing the world cultures moving towards a progressive homologation and examining the extent of their involvement in this type of projects will form the basis for an evaluation of transgenic art. The works of important artists will be taken as an illustration of the growing parallels between art and non-art. This rapidly expanding research context will provide the backdrop against which the work of art is projected beyond its representation and immersed into life experiences, thus creating unexpected new perspectives. Is it befitting that we start considering “artists” as the embodiment of wide-scope researchers who depart from their origins to outline new research areas?
Mario Savini
L’1 ottobre presenterò una relazione dal titolo “Transgenic Art. Life is the medium” presso il campus Crawley della University of Western Australia (Perth). L’appuntamento è nel calendario della conferenza scientifica “Neolife. The Rest of the World” dall’1 al 3 ottobre 2015. L’evento è organizzato da SLSA (Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts) e da SymbioticA (prestigioso laboratorio artistico dedicato alla ricerca, l’apprendimento e la critica delle scienze della vita della School of Anatomy & Human Biology della University of Western Australia). È un incontro che per la prima volta si terrà fuori dall’Europa e dagli Stati Uniti e celebrerà il ventesimo anniversario della scoperta della biologia rigenerativa che introdusse una crisi ontologica e nuove prospettive nei modi in cui ci relazioniamo ai corpi viventi. La conferenza costituirà un importante momento di discussione sulle problematiche relative ai campi scientifici, sociali, culturali e tecnologici. Verranno messe a confronto le più interessanti prospettive occidentali e orientali in relazione alla vita esibita e alla vita trasformata in una materia prima per essere plasmata o modificata. Specificamente, parlerò degli importanti sviluppi in campo artistico avviati dall’uso delle tecniche di ingegneria genetica: nel corso dell’analisi critica verranno ricostruite, in una prospettiva storica, le fasi di questa radicale ridefinizione culturale fino a giungere ai nostri giorni. Si tratta di un intervento che focalizzerà l’attenzione su tutti quei lavori di arte transgenica che hanno unito in modo inscindibile alcune parti dell’essere umano con parti di altri esseri viventi. Per la conferenza di Perth verranno presentati mostre ed eventi collaterali e molti saranno gli studiosi autorevoli che interverranno all’incontro: Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator, MoMA, New York), Stelarc (performer australiano), Oron Catts (artista e direttore di SymbioticA). Leggi il programma completo della conferenza.