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The influence of genetics on contemporary art

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Abstract

Contemporary visual artists are incorporating genetic concepts into their work, and this work has become prominently featured in numerous museum and gallery exhibitions. Such art uses visual images that represent the language of genomics, the values affected by genetic understanding of the body and the implications of bioengineering. Here, we present various examples of how artists depict aspects of genetics as cultural icons and symbols; in particular, their focus on DNA as information and on the commercialization of genetics research material.

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Figure 1: Code Noah by Tony Cragg (1988).
Figure 2: Zoosemiotics: Primates, Frog, Gazelle, Fish [detail] by Suzanne Anker (1993).
Figure 3: Designer Gene by Dennis Ashbaugh (1992).
Figure 4: Portrait of Jeff Koons by Kevin Clarke (1993).
Figure 5: Ecce Homo by Bryan Crockett (2000).
Figure 6: Oz by Frank Moore (2000).

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to F. Gillette for his astute and critical reading, and to the artists and galleries who have provided visual materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, New York University, Room 440, 269 Mercer Street, New York, 10003, New York, USA

    Dorothy Nelkin

  2. Art History Department of the School of Visual Arts, 209 East 23rd Street, New York, 10010, New York, USA

    Suzanne Anker

Authors
  1. Dorothy Nelkin
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  2. Suzanne Anker
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FURTHER INFORMATION

American Museum of Natural History

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Geneculture

Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Marion Goodman Gallery

Mendel Museum of Genetics

National Portrait Gallery, London

Sperone Westwater

The Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Centre

Universal Concepts Unlimited, New York City

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Nelkin, D., Anker, S. The influence of genetics on contemporary art. Nat Rev Genet 3, 967–971 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg950

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