For Immediate Release *Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001*
THE EIGHTH DAY, A TRANSGENIC NET INSTALLATION by Eduardo Kac will have its world premier and invite public debate at Institute for Studies in the Arts, Tempe, Arizona October 25 - November 2, 2001 *Lecture by the artist* "Art, Ethics, and Biotechnology: The 8th Day and the Transgenic Art of Eduardo Kac" (3 - 4 pm) Computing Commons Auditorium *Opening Reception* "The Eighth Day" an installation by Eduardo Kac (4 - 5:30pm) Computing Commons Gallery "The Eighth Day: Bioethics and Transgenics. A Public Forum on the Art of Eduardo Kac" (7:30 pm) Neeb Hall Dan Collins moderator. Associate Professor, School of Art, Arizona State University Eduardo Kac artist. Associate Professor of Art and Technology, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Cristine Wang Contributing Editor, NY Arts Magazine, Curator, Re:Duchamp Exhibition, 49th Venice Biennial Tanya Augsberg Interdisciplinary Studies, Arizona State University Allen Rawls scientist. Dept. of Biology, Arizona State University Joan McGregor philosopher, Arizona State University +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kac's most recent transgenic artwork, "The Eighth Day," is presented by Institute for Studies in the Arts, Tempe, from October 25 - November 2, 2001. "The Eighth Day" provides the public with the unique opportunity to experience a spectacular ecology of green glowing creatures and thus to critically reflect on the social and cultural implications of biotechnology. "The Eighth Day" brings together a biological robot (biobot) linked to the Internet, GFP fish, GFP mice, GFP amoeba and GFP plants, and video footage and sound of the ebb and flow of moving water. In order to approach the transgenic ecology, the viewer "walks on water." Gentle, recurring sounds of waves emanate from four corners of the room. In the center of this tranquil environment, a fluorescent ecology of living creatures emerges. The living creatures and the biobot are enclosed in an environment under a ventilated, clear, plexiglas dome, thus rendering dramatically visible what it would be like if these creatures would in fact coexist in the world at large. As a self-contained artificial ecological system it resonates with the words in the title, which add one day to the period of creation of the world as narrated in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. All transgenic creatures in "The Eighth Day" express the gene that produces green fluorescent protein (GFP). By enabling local and online participants to experience the environment inside the dome from the point of view of the biobot, "The Eighth Day" creates a context in which participants can reflect on the meaning of a transgenic ecology from a first-person perspective. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "The Eighth Day" was developed through a two-year residency at the Institute for Studies in the Arts, Arizona State University, Tempe. Eduardo Kac is represented by Julia Friedman Gallery, Chicago. *All events are free*and held on the Arizona State University campus. A campus map can be found at: http://www.asu.edu/map +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ *For Further Information Contact* Sheilah Britton Institute for Studies in the Arts 480.965.0964 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dan Collins Associate Professor, School of Art, Arizona State University office: 480-965-8311 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Eduardo Kac Associate Professor of Art and Technology The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Phone: (312) 345-3567 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.ekac.org +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ best regards, cristine wang http://cristine.org mobile: 917.318.0081 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
