[Nettime-bold] Eduardo Kac : From Telepresence to Transgenic Art

[Randall Packer <rpacker@zakros.com>]

Title: Eduardo Kac : From Telepresence to Transgenic Art

Eduardo Kac : From Telepresence to Transgenic Art

A Visiting Artist Lecture

Friday, March 8, 2002, 7:00 PM (admission free)

Mount Royal Station Auditorium (S3)

Maryland Institute College of Art

Mount Royal Ave. & Cathedral Street in Baltimore

Presented by the Maryland Institute College of Art Center for New Media

and the Johns Hopkins University Digital Media Center

in association with the JHU Film and Media Studies Program

and the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Department of Computer Music

<<From Telepresence to Transgenic Art>>

Eduardo Kac will discuss his pioneering work in telepresence and transgenic art. Kac first developed telepresence art in the mid 1980s. Telepresence art results from the coupling of telerobots and networking, a new platform that became widely employed on the Internet by the late 1990s, when Kac introduced transgenic art. This new art form is based on the use of genetic engineering to create unique living beings and to address the social and philosophical issues raised by the work.

Kac will present some of his artworks, including "Genesis", a transgenic piece that explores the intricate relationship between biology, belief systems, information technology, dialogical interaction, ethics and the Internet. The key element of the work is an "artist's gene," a synthetic gene that was created by Kac by translating a sentence from the biblical book of Genesis.

Kac will also present "GFP Bunny," a live green fluorescent rabbit named Alba who lives with Kac and his family in Chicago, and "The Eighth Day," a self-contained artificial ecological system. Eduardo Kac is considered "one of the ten people who is shaping the art world around the globe" (ARTnews, December 2001).

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The MICA Center for New Media is developing and coordinating partnerships with arts organizations, educational institutions, and industry to initiate collaborative opportunities in a complex interdisciplinary field. The Center for New Media serves as a bridge between the arts and its technology and educational partners by showcasing media experimentation across the disciplines in response to the need for technology-based research in contemporary aesthetic inquiry and artistic production.

The Digital Media Center located in the Mattin Center of Johns Hopkins University comprises a full-time professional staff where there are digital music and digital video specialists who provide instruction and workshops. Guest artists are invited to display their work, offering seminars and master classes. The center is a non-academic facility open to students of all majors and enrolled in all courses.

For more information:

Center for New Media

http://cnm.mica.edu

MICA Office of Communications

410.225.2300

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