[ISEA2015] Paper: Marta Heberle – Living media: Transgressing bios, transgressing techne and paving the way to further transgressions

Abstract (Long paper)

Keywords: Living media, transgression, bios, techne, media theories, art theories, bio art.

It was only a while ago that a clear opposition could be traced between bios and techne. However, together with the emergence of new branches of science, such as biotechnology, stemming from discovery of the code of life and an assumption, that there exists a certain relevancy, a pattern of relationships between genetic and computer codes were established and developed vastly at the intersection of the two, once distant domains. The silicone versus carbon division ceases to exist. Rather it’s silicone and carbon, a come back of the material, of the carbon remediated by data, by codes and algorithms. An immense transgression this type of media elicited is that they are literally alive: living synthetic cells, living tissues, living organisms. Moreover, they transgress classical media theories, philosophical concepts and, when employed into artistic practice, common art theories. They may also pave way for further transgressions such as disruption of the boundaries of species as a consequence of deliberate scientific experiments or laboratory aberrations. In my presentation I would like to address these issues and make an attempt of tracing foundations and goals for the theory of living media

  • Marta Heberle, Adam Mickiewicz University, IRSA – Institute for Research in Science and Art Poznan, Poland. Marta  is a theorist and critic of culture. She specializes in issues related to bio art and bio media. Heberle is an author of numerous articles concerning contemporary art and aesthetics with a focus on transhumanist perspectives. Currently she is preparing her PhD at the University of Poznan. Her main focus is the problem of life, which, according to acknowledged definitions seems to be a phenomenon of relative rather than absolute character. She employs a non-humanistic approach to push the boundaries of biological systems. Heberle’s work balances theoretical and applied research: she is also an artist concentrated on transgressive sensory experiments located at the intersection of sound
    and performance.

Full text (PDF) p. 398-401