Identity in the 21st century has broadened its meaning from security issues to cloning. Only a half-century old, DNA has become a powerful tool in defining people, and it continues to open doors to understanding identity and biology.
The latest multidisciplinary project at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, "Does DNA Define You?" explores the historic shifts in the way artists have conceptualized the relationship between identity and biology. The exhibition will open Friday, Aug. 22.
"The idea for the show came out of one of our programming meetings," said Visual Arts Curator Courtney Gilbert. "There has been so much news in the last 10 years about genetic testing and the human genome. People are getting results and making decisions based on forensics. A microscopic amount of evidence can change someone's life."
The exhibition will include Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle's "The Garden of Delights," which is a series of portraits of individuals based on their DNA charts, and poses the question of whether our DNA is who we are. In addition, Dennis Ashbaugh has created a series of DNA portraits based on individual genetic fingerprints. Unlike Manglano-Ovalle, who produces prints of actual DNA charts, Ashbaugh uses digital images of DNA as the basis for large-scale oil paintings and prints that engage the history of abstract and color-field painting.
Artist Becky Howland has created a series of drawings that gently and humorously probe the complicated issues of genomics, cloning and reproductive biotechnology. Artist Jaq Chartier's luminescent paintings result from the chemical reactions between layers of spray paint and acrylic, which she applies to each canvas. Her process—a metaphor for genetic testing—produces a result similar to that of DNA gel electrophoresis, in which an electric current is passed through gel to separate DNA strands. The handwritten notes she leaves visible in the margins are evidence of the scientific approach she takes to art and the blurring of art and science in her work.
The Center will explore the issue of DNA through lectures, films, art exhibitions and a free family art activity from Friday, Aug. 22, through Oct. 31. An exhibition at The Center in Hailey, Mining Identity: Works by Eve-Marie Bergren, will open Friday, Aug. 29 and continue through Friday, Nov. 7. For details and a schedule of events, visit sunvalleycenter.org or call 726-9491.
Eugenics Tree, ca. 1925, Eugenics Record Office Records, American Philosophical Society
