Strange Culture (Eerie but True Tales of Genetic Engineering)

[nosmokes]

And sometimes ya hafta laugh to keep from crying...
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original-prwatch

Cult of the New Eve

Slate magazine has an online slide show this week about "bio art" — in which people use genetic manipulation to insert coded messages into DNA, or produce a transgenic rabbit using a gene derived from a jellyfish that makes it glow fluorescent green.

I was a little disappointed, though, that Slate failed to mention the work of Steve Kurtz, a bio artist whose work goes further than most in provoking debate about the ethical issues involved with genetic engineering — so far, in fact, that he is currently awaiting trial on charges that could land him in prison for 20 years.

Cult of the New EveCult of the New EveI happened to meet Steve Kurtz in December 2002 at a "World Information Organization" conference in Amsterdam, where we were both speakers. Kurtz spoke on the topic of "The Spectre of Intellectual Property Rights" and described his work as a performance art provocateur. To challenge corporate control of biotechnology, for example, his Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) produced an exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. called "Molecular Invasion." It consisted of a " live public experiment" that attempted to "reverse engineer genetically modified cash crops" by developing a chemical that can be applied to the Monsanto company's genetically-engineered Roundup Ready crops to make them vulnerable again to "the crippling effects of RoundUp herbicide." Another CAE project, "Free Range Grain," consisted of a mobile lab that invited the public to test foods for genetic modification. Another, more whimsical project that Kurtz showcased at the conference in Amsterdam was called "Cult of the New Eve" (CONE). It consisted of a mock religion that practiced "molecular cannibalism" by inviting people to eat bread and drink beer containing human DNA.

At the end of the conference, I had dinner with Steve Kurtz and some of the other participants. He told some funny stories, and I told a few myself. Neither of us knew at the time that his life was soon to take a strange turn that would lead to the FBI accusing him of terrorism.
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complete article including numerous links to related sources here

[Mabus]

1. Interesting

This is the first I've ever heard of this artist or his work. I'm going to keep an eye out for the film.