Art History 604 - Biology and Art

This seminar explores the intersection of Biology and Art from an art-historical perspective, focusing on the ways modern and contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries relates to the history of biology as well as current social and ecological developments. It examines how works of art model biological structures and processes, and reimagine and respond to issues such as evolution, the human genome, environmental degradation, the AIDS crisis, GMOs, and global pandemics like COVID-19. It takes a critical perspective on contemporary ethical debates in biology and includes an examination of activist art that intervenes in those debates.