Bio art is art made by artists who use living organic materials (i.e. bacteria, cell lines, molecules, plants, body fluids and tissues, and even living animals).
Brief History of Bio Art:
Chauvet Cave
Oldest cave paintings known to exist, based off radiocarbon dating.
Ikebana
Japanese art of flower arrangement, dating back to the 7th century. Employs minimalism, with an
emphasis on shape, line and form. Silence is practiced.
Dia de los Muertos
Private altars built by people of mexican decent to honor the deceased. Lavishly decorated with
flowers, food and other small offerings.
Recent precursors to Bio Art... The earth artists of the 60s and 70s.
Robert Smithson - Sprial Jetty - 1970
The entire piece is made of mud, salt crystals, basalt rocks, earth and water.
Betsy Damon - The Living Water Garden - 1998
Chengdu, China. Park and organic system that purifies water.
George Gessert - Origin
Orogin is a breeding project involving streptocarpuses, a genus of plants grown
for their ornamental flowers.
New additions...
Marilee Salvator - Red Rover, Red Rover - 2004
Menstrual fluid monotypes, silkscreen. Salvator ran tampons through an etching press. Concepts dealing with sexuality, femininity and abuse.
Gregory Euclide - Untitled (Bon Iver cover art) - 2011
Acrylic, buckthorn root, dirt, found foam, geranium, moss, mylar, paper, pencil, photo transfer,
pine cone, desum, snow, sponge. 35 x 35 x 6.
Cheers!
-M.
