The Living Image in Bio-Art and in Philosophy

Simoniti, V ORCID: 0000-0001-5832-9587 (2019) The Living Image in Bio-Art and in Philosophy Oxford Art Journal, 42 (2). pp. 177-196. ISSN 0142-6540, 1741-7287

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Abstract

The central piece of Eduardo Kac’s project Natural History of the Enigma (2003–08) is a genetically modified, living artwork: a transgenic petunia (Fig. 1). The pinkish flower might first appear to be a pleasant, unthreatening, even mundane representative of its species, familiar from window boxes and suburban gardens. Only once we are informed of the flower’s provenance does it acquire an uncanny quality. The flower has been produced by introducing a gene, extracted from Kac’s blood sample, into the plant’s DNA. Kac’s gene has been modified to express itself as the blood-red, vein-like pattern on the petunia’s bloom. The genetically modified flower thereby presents us with a living image of blood-filled veins on pinkish human...

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3601 Art History, Theory and Criticism, 36 Creative Arts and Writing
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	20 Aug 2019 09:57
Last Modified:	28 Feb 2026 23:40
DOI:	10.1093/oxartj/kcz007
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3052162
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