Week 6: Do Rats have feelings too? How Art brings awareness to the ethical implications of Bioengineering

 This week, Professor Vesna lectured about the importance that artists have played in the evolution of biotechnology, such as genetic engineering, tissue engineering, and animal lab experimentation. Each poses significant ethical implications, and the collaboration of scientists and artists has raised critical thought and awareness to pressing issues that continue to get more complicated and nuanced. We focused on artists Eduardo Kac, who coined the term 'Bio Art' and is the pioneer in the field, and Joe Davis, who was quite the eccentric artist who synthesized DNA and inserted it into bacterial genomes. Both artists questioned the meaning of life through manipulating organisms. A controversial experiment that sparked enormous debate was the creation of the 'GFP bunny' using genetic engineering. 

"GFP Bunny" - Eduardo Kac

Sometimes reading and viewing such experimentation made me feel uncomfortable because it raises issues of animal exploitation, ethical concerns about genetic manipulation, and the unintended and intended consequences of both. Ultimately, Kac's purpose in spurring dialogue is that most people do not partake in these types of experimentations, and whether the average person is aware of it becomes more of a fact. Becoming aware, one can develop an educated viewpoint to advocate for such issues. Another purpose is to normalize such technologies that are being developed rapidly, and make genetic manipulation visible to a public audience. 

I want to highlight the artist and scholar Kath High for my blog post. Like Kac, she also explores the relationship between humans, animals, and particularly rats in scientific research. She challenges the ethical treatment of lab rats, questioning their status as pests or disposable animals. As a philosophy major, I myself have only begun to understand issues regarding animal rights. A well-known 17th-century philosopher, Descartes, developed the idea that animals were merely 'mechanisms' or 'automata', viewing them as complex machines without experiences or a soul. He believed they could not rationalize or feel pain and only reacted due to external stimuli, and animal bodies were much the same as a clock function. This type of philosophy opens up many ethical implications when it comes to the treatment of animals, especially in bioengineering. Lab rats are the perfect case study of such experimentation that Kathy High focuses on. 

"Embracing Animal" - Kathy High

"Embracing Animal" is a multi-media scientific installation of exchanges between people and animals. It featured three transgenic lab rats that were microinjected with human DNA. They shared our human genes! Because rats share a physiology close to humans, they are used most in experimentation for autoimmune disease research. One of the fascinating commentaries that Kathy High makes is that she treats the rats holistically and like her sisters because of the shared proximity of physiology between rats and humans. Instead of just using the rats as a means to an end, her installation brings commentary on the humane treatment of these rats. 

"This was a lab environment for observation, an experimental playground for people to feel the tension of exchanges, transitions, and trans-play. How do we identify and transform? What is our animal nature? This installation honored our kinship with our transgenic animal partners." - The Museum of Insects.

"Ratz" - Kathy High

Ratz is an artwork installation by High that featured edible white chocolate lab rats and sculpted decapitated rat heads in honor of the rats used in research, created for a feminist group show.

Through Kathy High's installation, she aims to create empathy and spark debate about the politics of caring for these forgotten creatures. This is a vital philosophical topic to continue to explore as science, in conjunction with Art, continues to push the boundaries of biotechnology. We need to speak up for the rats and mice! How do we move forward with experimentation involving dynamic conversation of how humans treat animals, just as we treat our genetic engineering and manipulation? 

References

Eduardo Kac. (n.d.). https://www.ekac.org/

Embracing animal : Links. (n.d.). https://www.embracinganimal.com/links.html

Kathy High - The Museum for Insects. (n.d.). https://hypernatural.com/museum/kathy_high.html

Wikipedia contributors. (2025c, April 8). Alba (rabbit). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alba_(rabbit)

Wikipedia contributors. (2025a, April 3). Kathy High. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_High

Image Citations

Eduardo Kac, GFP Bunny, https://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html, 2000

Kathy High, Embracing Animal, https://www.kathyhigh.com/projects/embracing-animal/, 2004-2006

Kathy High, Ratz, https://www.kathyhigh.com/projects/ratz/, 2007






Comments

  1. Ella LaneMay 7, 2025 at 10:22 AM

    Hi, Jack! I really enjoyed your blog post. I love your incorporation of Kathy High's work, as I did not engage much with her within my blog. The images you chose to put in your post help to navigate your claims and are good representations of your ideas. How do you think we, as UCLA students, can make a difference in speaking up for the rodents?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kaylee HsiehMay 7, 2025 at 10:16 PM

    Hey Jack! I was really interested in your blog post this week! I thought the Ratz artwork you included was very intriguing. It is pretty cool how so many messages and larger themes can come from a piece that also intertwines biotechnology and art. The commentary that it makes on the progression of biotechnology is especially profound.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Francesca AlupeiMay 8, 2025 at 7:43 AM

    Great post! I really liked how you talked about how art makes us think about the feelings of animals, especially rats used in science. It’s true that sometimes science moves so fast that we forget to ask big questions about what’s right and wrong. I think artists like Kathy High and Eduardo Kac help us see these issues in a new way. I talked about them in my post as well, their work reminds us that animals aren’t just tools for research but they’re living beings with feelings, just like us. It’s important for everyone to learn more and talk about these things so we can make better choices together. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete

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