Event #2: UCLA Noise Aquarium

BioArt: Noise Aquarium


As someone that is not very particularly fond of art, I found bio art to be one of the most intriguing and engaging art forms I have ever experienced. I went out to Professor Vesnas Noise Aquarium exhibit and my expectations were actually pretty high given that it was an art installation from our professor. I was pleasantly surprised and it confirmed that the reason I love bio art so much is because of my love for nature. Growing up I would go hiking with my aunt and because of that experience I have developed a love and a profound understanding of nature. In this blog, we will be taking a look at the "Noise Aquarium" as well as other forms of bio art and critiquing the morality of these art installations. 

The very first instance of Bio Art that really interested me was the glowing rabbits that were created at the University of Istambul between a collaboration with universities from Turkey and Hawaii. According to the Technology Review, scientists took jellyfish genes and engineered them into bunnies genomes in order to give them a luminous effect. I found this fascinating given my love for nature but I also became concerned with the ethics of the entire project. This entire section within our course had me thinking the most and pondering whether or not ethically I am okay with BioArt being practiced. 

Professor Vesna's exhibit on a Noise Aquarium gave me a slightly different perspective, allowing me to see how mesmerizing Bio Art can be without being controversial or unethical.  I believe Professor Vesnas art captured what the essence of Bio Art in my personal opinion should encompass. Bio Art should be about spreading a message and giving and provide an important perspective into our world. Professor Vesna was able to very impressively portray the way that ocean life is affected by unnatural processes that the human race is causing every day. From boats to fracking Dr. Vesna allowed to experience how these sounds travel under the ocean and quite frankly to me they were terrified and disrupting. It really put into perspective an aspect of these man-made environmental disruptions that I had never quite discovered. Never had I considered the noises and sounds that travel underwater and how that can contribute to the environmental disruptions.
Sources: 
Glow-in-the-Dark Rabbit
by Susan Young RojahnAug 14, 2013Glowing bunnies are a successful early step in a project aimed at engineering mammals that produce medicines in their milk.https://www.technologyreview.com/s/518171/glow-in-the-dark-rabbits/

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