It's Alive! A Laboratory of Biotech Art

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Hours:	Hours Vary see below
Ages:	Teens, Adults
In/Outdoor:	Indoor
Cost:	Free see below
Category:	Exhibits

Montserrat College of Art Gallery is pleased to announce its new exhibition, It’s Alive: A Laboratory of Biotech Art. From a tomato that rots as mechanized needles repeatedly plunge into it at viewers’ discretion, to butterflies whose wing patterns appear to have morphed into the designer logos of Coach handbags, all of the artwork on display is, was, or appears to be, alive.

The Montserrat Gallery will thus transform into a laboratory, with a range of “experiments” in progress, in an effort to raise viewer awareness and understanding of the often-controversial issues that surround cutting-edge research in biotechnology: a drawing that consists of living, bioluminescent bacteria by geneticist and artist, Dr. Hunter O’Reilly, will be on display in a small darkroom; Jennifer Willet and Shawn Bailey will have prototypes of unusual cancerous cysts, or teratoma, which are being studied as examples of spontaneous cloning; Kevin Jones’ Pseudo Tree, a synthetic robotic tree, will examine current discussions in biotechnology centered on cloning, mutations and genetic engineering.

Schedule of Events
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 16, 2007
Artist Talk: Wednesday, February 14, 11:30 am, New Media Artist Kevin Jones
Artist Talk: Wednesday, February 28, 11:30 am - Sculptor Brian Burkhardt and Photographer Tanit Sakakini
Artist Talk: Thursday, March 15, 11:30 am, New Media Artists Jennifer Hall & Blyth Hazen
Artist Panel: Friday, March 16, 6-8 pm, at the Unitarian Church, 255 Cabot St., Beverly, Led by Geneticist and Artist Hunter O’Reilly.
Artist Talk: Thursday, March 29, 11:30 am, New Media Artist Brian Knep
Curator Talk: Saturday, April 7, 2:30 pm, with Exhibit Curator Leonie Bradbury

The genetic revolution has turned the artist’s studio into a laboratory, the artist into a researcher, and living tissue technology into a medium. Artists are experimenting with biological substances in creative new ways. The risky business of using living organisms as a new art media and the artist as scientist has brought to the forefront a whole new set of ethical considerations and questions of responsibility.

It’s Alive! A Laboratory of Biotech Art
EXHIBIT PROGRAMMING

February 12- March 8 — Twist of Nature: Amy Ross
Hardie Building, 23 Essex St.
It's Alive Companion exhibit in the Schlosberg Gallery

Wednesday, February 14 — Artist Talk: Kevin Jones
Room 201, Hardie Building, 23 Essex St. 11:30 a.m.

Friday, February 16 — Public Opening
Montserrat Gallery, 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, February 22 — Artist Talk: Amy Ross
Room 201, Hardie Building, 23 Essex St. 11:30 a.m.

Wednesday, February 28 — Artist Talk: Brian Burkhardt and Tanit Sakakini
Room 201, Hardie Building, 23 Essex St. 11:30 a.m.

March 12- April 10 — Ice Cream, No Regrets: Cathy McLaurin
It's Alive Companion exhibit in the Schlosberg Gallery

Thursday, March 15 — Artist Talk: Jennifer Hall and Blyth Hazen
Room 201, Hardie Building, 23 Essex St. 11:30 a.m.

Friday, March 16 — Panel Discussion: Hunter O'Reilly, Shawn Bailey, Steve Hollinger, Leonie Bradbury, Peter Hornbeck, Director of Bioinformatics, Cell Signaling Technology, Inc.
First Parish Unitarian Church, 255 Cabot St. Beverly, 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, March 29 — Artist Talk: Brian Knep
Room 201, Hardie Building, 23 Essex St. 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, April 7th — Gallery Talk: Leonie Bradbury
Montserrat Gallery, 2:30 p.m.

HOURS

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m-f, 10 - 5, thurs. 10 - 8, and sat 12 - 5.
the 301 Gallery, with student work, is open 11 - 2pm.

COST

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The exhibit and related events are free and open to the public.

WEBSITE

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www.montserrat.edu/news/mediakit.shtml

LOCATION

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23 Essex St, PO Box 26, Beverly, MA, 01915 map
Phone: 978-921-4242 X11

Montserrat College of Art: Montserrat Gallery, 23 Essex Street, Beverly
For directions visit www.montserrat.edu