In honor of Halloween, a US holiday where Americans celebrate the ghouls and ghosts that haunt their shadows, dress up in costume, and take children door to door for candy, I decided to attend an Art, Science, and Monsters Talks put on by, Bay Area Art & Science Interdisciplinary Collaborative Sessions (BAASICS). The goal was to see what happens when you merge art and science to explain the origin of monsters. Turns out if you explain something with science, like monsters and their origins, it becomes less scary.

My favorite topic was a discussion of the origins and influences on the literary artist, Mary Shelley, had to write her acclaimed Frankenstein. Turns out Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein to win a contest between friends and poets, Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, to see who could write the scariest story. The inspiration for the reanimation of Frankenstein’s monster was a misinterpretation of scientist Luigi Galvani's work on bioelectricity. Galvani (along with others) was doing a series of experiments to understand bioelectricity in a body’s nervous system. This research helped pioneer life saving devices, such as defibrillators and pacemakers, helping millions of people worldwide. Mary Shelley took the science of bioelectricity and stretched the concepts to capture the attention, frighten, and entertain her readers. The artform Shelley created was a success, so much so that the story of Frankenstein is contributed with launching the genre of science fiction.

Pondering the emergence of the artform, science fiction got me thinking about synthetic biology and artists. We all know how some literary artists write scary science fiction articles. In these articles, synthetic biologists create new breeds of monsters who destroy our world, often starting with our environment and health. These stories are akin to telling scary stories around a campfire or for halloween ideas, however, they are misleading our communities’ science background knowledge. I know writers are not the only artists interested in biology. After being inspired at the BAASICS event I decided to do my own research on who is merging science and art in the synthetic biology community to create art forms out of lifeforms.

What I found was pretty cool.

Science Inspires New Artists

There are people who are using synthetic biology tools to make art forms out of life forms everyday. See the picture below where a lab at the University of California, San Diego used an agar plate and fluorescent bacteria colonies to create a beautiful beach scene. The good news is you do not have to be a member of prestigious academic laboratory to appreciate life forms as art forms. There are several synthetic biology companies that are bringing art to life.

Image source: Nathan Shaner/Wikimedia Commons.

Glowing Plant was the first synthetic biology company to merge art, consumer imagination, and science to bring us fluorescence plants. For seed money the Glowing Plant Project took to the crowd and used Kickstarter to sell seeds for glow in the dark plants. Their results shook up crowdfunding. First, the Glowing Plant Project illuminated the fact a synthetic biology company could raise seed money from a Kickstarter. Second, they proved once again that science is art with function. They showed science creates art that can light up our life. I find the Glowing Plant Project an inspiring demonstration of when a lifeform is an artform.

Shortly after Glowing Plant caught our attention with bioluminescence, Intrexon jumped in the art and science game and acquired ‘living arts’ company BioPop. This company has two cool products: the DinoPet and Personal DNA Portraits. The DinoPet launched a Kickstarter in summer 2013 selling dinoflagellates in cute little Dino shaped containers. A DNA Portrait, the ultimate selfie, is exactly how it sounds: an artistic interpretation of a southern blot of your DNA you can share with friends. I hope science-art projects created by BioPop and others will inspire citizens to learn more about how science affects their everyday lives.

The third science art company I am excited to see blossom is Revolution Bioengineering. The company is making the art of color choice a science by creating a new lifeform Petunia Circadia. In other words, RevBio is engineering petunias to express different colors throughout the day. They already have a palette of colors to choose from and can program a flower to express a certain color at different times of the day. If you would like to follow their progress check out their website.

Art Inspires Leaders

Two hundred years ago when Mary Shelley created Frankenstein she merged science with art. Today we are seeing the rise of art inspiring science, with synthetic biologists are becoming the artist. We have seen companies merge art and life (such as Glowing Plant, BioPop, and RevBio) to prove science is beautiful. Science is becoming a new artform where products are lifeforms used to inspire curiosity and design solutions for a better world.

One event to keep your eye on, merging science, art, and culture is the inauguration of BioFabricate. This conference is going to be exploring how synthetic biology can support everything from textiles and fashion to automation and architecture. Groups of thought leaders, industry specialists, scientists, and engineers are coming together to see how art and science can be merged to create an amazing advance in technology to help all. If you're interested in art, as well as science, you may consider attending.

Editor's Note: The featured image was provided by Steve Cornelius on Flickr.