Customer Reviews

Molecular Invasion (Autonomedia)

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After hearing about the Homeland Security proceedings against Steven Kurtz, a member of Critical Art Ensemble, I couldn't help but to put in my two cents. As a PhD in science studies I did a fair amount of work on the political aspects of biotech, but I never really looked into the intersection of art and biology. What I've found is that there are a lot of artists that make paintings and images of biotech, but only a handful of artists that actually do biotech as part of their art. Critical Art Ensemble has been doing politically-minded biotech art for years, collaborating with scientists to bring the crucial issues of biotech to a broader public audience. And their writing matches their artwork. I read their earlier book The Flesh Machine, which was at times a little heavy-handed, but this book is really inspiring. They address both theoretical issues such as the institutionalization of bio-knowledge, and they also address practical issues, such as strategies for bringing the issues of biotech into the public sphere. Even if you're not crazy about biotech, the issues raised - access to knowledge, commodification of 'life', sustainable technology - are applicable to other areas as well.