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Internationally recognized artist Eduardo Kac is known for pushing boundaries, employing biotechnology and genetics to create works that challenge definition and sometimes spark controversy.

His recent visit to �Ա���Ƶ marked an experiment of sorts for campus, as the discussion it spurred crossed several disciplines and involved faculty members and students who might not ordinarily find themselves seated together.

Even the physical spaces for Kac’s appearances were quite different, with his Nov. 11 lecture being held in Meyerhoff Auditorium in the Ho Science Center, and a panel discussion the day after held in Golden Auditorium in Little Hall, home of the Department of Art and Art History.

Creating scholarly dialogue outside the usual classroom setting was a major goal of having Kac deliver the Harvey Picker Distinguished Lecture in the Visual Arts, according to Scott Habes, director of the Picker Art Gallery.

“The interdisciplinary concept provided a point of entry for the science community to experience the work of a prominent contemporary artist, while creating a framework for future interdisciplinary research in the arts here at �Ա���Ƶ,” said Habes.

In his public lecture, Kac discussed his nearly 30-year career. He talked about creating holographic poems in the new cultural space presented by the rise of the Internet in the mid-1980s.

The artist showed video clips of how the media covered his 1997 work Time Capsule, which involved him having a microchip implanted in his body. He discussed GFP Bunny (2000), the work that generated considerable controversy after he commissioned a laboratory to create a green-glowing bunny named Alba.

Taking part in a panel discussion at Golden Auditorium are (left to right) Professor Anthony F. Aveni, of �Ա���Ƶ; Professor W.C. Richardson, of University of Maryland, College Park; Eduardo Kac; and Professor Jason Meyers, of  �Ա���Ƶ. (Photo by Brooke Ousterhout ’10)

 

The artist also talked about his latest work, Natural History of the Enigma, that involves a “plantimal,” a new life form he created and that he calls Edunia, a genetically engineered flower that is a hybrid of the artist and a petunia.

Examining potential relationships between the fields of science and art was the focus of a panel discussion involving Kac; Jason Meyers, assistant professor of biology at �Ա���Ƶ; W.C. Richardson, professor, University of Maryland, College Park; Anthony F. Aveni, Russell B. �Ա���Ƶ Professor of astronomy and anthropology at �Ա���Ƶ; and Lynn Gamwell, director-emerita, Binghamton University Art Museum.

Meyers said it was interesting to consider how one field might influence the other.

“We all too often think of science being about rigorous pursuit of truth and art about creativity, but science is an intensely creative process and art can be just as rigorous and illuminating as science,” he said.

Meyers, though, did point out that while Kac uses the media of science to do his art, he was very clear that he does not consider himself to be a scientist or to be doing science.

“In many ways, this provides a more interesting discussion about science and art. If he is not crossing the boundaries in his work, perhaps the way we have constructed the boundaries in our minds is the issue,” said Meyers.