The idea of visually educating the public on biotechnology and the “genetic revolution” was in my opinion a great one. This is because as humans we are very visual learners and some things are “too complex when encountered in print” (Lynch 186). The intentions of Paradise Now were to create a neutral ground in which viewers could formulate their own opinion on the genetic advances through viewing visual representations of modern day science. However, although the intentions were good and seemed to be a good idea, I do believe there is no way to formulate a neutral arena in which art is present. Art is typically considered an expression. So in what way are people supposed to look at art focused on such a controversial subject and not formulate an opinion based on the idea the artwork is projecting? It seems that people would have taken artwork, such as Alexis Rockman’s “The Farm”, to be pushing to one side or the other, not giving a neutral perspective. However I cannot give an opinion on the entire exhibit, but from the specific works mentioned by Lynch, it seems that this would be the case. The debate “How to Understand Genetic Information and Why” also expressed the idea that neutral territory is impossible. Lynch says “the debate also points to the difficulty, if not impossibility, of using art to construct a neutral space of debate about a topic as controversial as biotechnology” (Lynch 189). It seems that artists such as Eduardo Kac were more successful with were more successful with their intention.

According to Lynch, Kac’s “role as artist is to ‘reinforce the discussion’, by structuring his work in such a way that it becomes a ‘cognitive intervention’” (Lynch 194). Although he may have been successful in creating an opinion from the public because of his extensive media coverage, it seems that his “GFP Bunny” was less of art and more of his way of showing science to the public through the media. The “GFP Bunny” could be compared to “Dolly” the cloned sheep, because they both were genetic experiments that received a mass amount about media coverage. So even though Kac received the reaction from the public that he intended, I don’t think his “GFP Bunny” work can truly be considered “art”.

Lynch, Lisa. “Culturing the Pleeband: The Idea of the ‘Public’ In Genetic Art”. Project Muse: Scholarly Online Jounrlas. 22 March 2010.