biotechnology – flawed art

CO.dependency
2004

Produced for the exhibition youGenics – http://www.yougenics.netheld at the Betty Rymer Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago – Curator – Ryan Griffis. 2004

Materials
3 plexiglass vitrine/glove boxes with mirrored bottoms,
Sara Lee™ cheese cake, plate, fork, dinner place cards for Gauguin,
Vuillard and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Wall Text
“Sara Lee’s art collection has made a statement – a quality statement – about our company. Art is all about excellence and vision and striving for perfection – the same standards that we uphold for our portfolio of leading brands. We are quite certain that the ‘brand names’ of Monet, Renoir and Degas have been a great complement to Sara Lee and have become icons of excellence that reflect our approach to doing business. Our gift to America acknowledges our belief that these works of art can provide similar influence and motivation for a broader audience.”

– John H. Bryan, former CEO and current consultant to, Sara Lee Corporation, current director of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc., Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Art Institute of Chicago, speaking at a 1998 ceremony in honor of Sara Lee’s “Millennium Gift to America,” a public relations initiative through which Sara Lee would give away the top tier of its renowned art collection to museums located throughout the world including The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC). The AIC, which was given paintings by Gauguin and Vuillard, has a close relationship with Sara Lee. The corporation is the sole corporate sponsor of blockbuster exhibitions of artists such as Cassatt and Toulouse-Lautrec as well as the lead corporate sponsor of exhibitions and events of the Betty Rymer gallery.

“The big issue on standards for the Grocery Manufacturers of America is to be sure that people don’t perceive ‘organic’ as superior.”

– Gene Grabowski, vice president of communications for Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc (GMA), the Washington, D.C.-based industry association, which represents 144 manufacturers of branded consumer packaged goods including Sara Lee. GMA is stridently opposed to labeling genetically engineered ingredients, which are already present in an estimated 60 to 80 percent of supermarket foods in the US. Under intense public pressure in Europe Sara Lee has attempted to avoid GE ingredients in their foods produced for that market, yet in America, Sara Lee has maintained the position of the GMA and their powerful Washington lobby even while shareholders and some legislators have organized to demand a GE moratorium, until long term health and environmental safety testing has been done.

Enduring freedom V.3 | 2003

Enduring freedom v.3 – produced for YouGenics an exhibition exploring the social implications of biotechnology. Curator – Ryan Griffis.

Materials: Wall paper, Lamp, Framed document – Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)letter to George W. Bush showing support for the “war on terror” and outlining the Biotech industry’s political/economic agenda for 2002.

Wall text – “When I was coming up it was a dangerous world, and you knew exactly who they were. It was us versus them, and you knew exactly who them was. Today, we are not so sure who they are, but we know they’re there” President GW Bush

Overhead projector – Projected newspaper article concerning the public outcry over the military spraying of biological agents at Fort Leonard Wood (90 miles from the site of the exhibition) as part of the current administration’s Project BioShield (supported by BIO).

Congressional records – Transcripts of congressional hearings concerning extensive secret testing of biological and chemical agents on the American public by the Department of Defense, the CIA and other agencies since the 1940’s.

Installation note: The various components of the installation are tied together with the use of red and green extension cords that run up walls and across ceilings to connect the power cords from both the overhead projector and lamp into a single electrical outlet (printed with an American flag motif). The access red and green cords are woven together, coiled and tied with camouflage fabric on the floor below the framed document display.

Comment: As with the study of any cultural representation, a good deal can be learned about a technology’s research and development by addressing the ideology of its patrons. The biotechnology industry and the current administration have expressed their political and economic alignment in the “war on terror” apparently by responding with their own form of terror. The US government’s experimentation with biological weapons is well documented, and so is the government’s commitment to contracting from and passing technologies to the private sector. A little research can begin to tell us what’s in store and who’s buying.