Exploring the Interdisciplinarity of Bioart Practice: A Perspective from TW BioArt

Abstract

Bioart, as an emerging practice in contemporary art context, has drawn a substantial amount of attention from art critics, historians, and its very own practitioners to question its form, definition, and aesthetics as an art practice. Due to some bioart works manipulating living systems by using genetic engineering or employing biomaterials such as animal tissues as their expressive media, scholars have since widely discussed on its ethical issues. In addition, bioart is a practice that bridges the two cultures, art and science, and engages with knowledge and methodology of both disciplines. It is essential to explore its interdisciplinarity as a means to possibly fill the gap between the art and science.

This research aims to explore the interdisciplinarity of bioart practice through a qualitative investigation. As the interdisciplinary practice is often a collaborative process, platforms that facilitate the process exist around the world. This research also attempts to understand the relationship between the interdisciplinary platforms and the practice by taking a case study approach towards a Taiwanese bioart community, TW BioArt.

Case study and in-depth interview were conducted to generate insights to the understanding of the phenomenon. Investigation draws conclusions about the relationship of each elements of interdisciplinarity, as well as the role of the interdisciplinary platform as a network to the interdisciplinary practice from the perspective of TW BioArt.