Thursday, April 4, 2002 • Vol 8, Issue 7
The art of genomics
Henry's five-month exhibition aims to demystify DNA
By BRAD BROBERG
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PHOTO BY CLAY EALS
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| Dr. Christine Rousseau, postdoctoral fellow in the Overbaugh Lab and co-founder of the Bay Area's Sustainable Science Institute, precipitates DNA in the same fashion that she will demonstrate at "Gene(sis)." |
The Henry Art Gallery is diving double-helix deep into all issues genomic by organizing a thoughtful new exhibition and a series of public programs that includes participation from the Center.
"Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics" opens at the Henry on the University of Washington campus this Saturday, April 6, and runs through Aug. 28. Perhaps appropriately, at the Henry "Gene(sis)" will reside in the gallery named for the late Sam Stroum, a prominent Hutch donor and community leader.
Featuring three works commissioned expressly for this project, the 29-artist exhibition also will travel to Berkeley, Minneapolis and Honolulu.
Eclectic collection
From pictures of genetically manipulated mice to a yeast-growing family tree, "Gene(sis)" visitors will encounter an eclectic collection of pieces - many of them interactive and some featuring actual genetic materials.
"The whole exhibit is registered as a lab project with the National Institutes of Health," said Robin Held, assistant curator at the Henry and creator of the exhibit.
But there's more to this exhibition than art. An eclectic range of public programs will complement the show. Featuring everything from classes to movies to book readings, the programs are meant to shed further light on the significance of capturing the human genome.
The Hutch is involved in two of the public programs. Dr. Lee Hartwell, Nobel laureate and the Center's president and director, will participate in a town-hall meeting that will address the future of genomic research.
Meanwhile, the Center will team with the Sustainable Science Institute to help exhibition visitors participate in a DNA-precipitation experiment. Dr. Christine Rousseau, postdoctoral fellow in the Overbaugh Lab, leads that project. Rousseau is a co-founder of the institute, a nonprofit organization based in the Bay Area.
"Gene(sis)" was born out of a "conversation" Held convened three years ago. As completion of the draft human genome drew closer and closer, more and more artists were creating genome-related work. Intrigued by this trend, Held gathered members of the arts, science and business communities to discuss their interest in organizing an exhibition at the Henry.
The gathering gave Held all the encouragement she needed - and then some.
"Nobody would go home," she said of that first meeting. "We went to dinner. We went to drinks. It went on and on."
The exhibition itself is organized around four recurring themes of genomic debate: sequence, specimen, boundary and subject Within those themes, artists employ everything from photographs to multi-media presentations and explore everything from the metaphors used to describe sequencing the genome to the erosion of biological boundaries between species.
"What I want people to come away with is that scientists alone are not going to decide," Held said. "The ultimate meaning of the Human Genome Project is going to be worked out by all members of society."
Held sought artists with something to say in an original way.
"Our job was to show what artists were thinking, not simply translate the science for lay audiences," she said.
Some exhibition pieces - "Eighteen Frogs with Pants," for example - may stretch conventional notions of art and/or cause visitors to puzzle over their connection to the human genome.
No matter. Held is counting on a certain amount of head scratching. "The art itself is really compelling," she said, "but the text that accompanies the art is always about the questions. We want to present what the artists are thinking and let people make up their own minds."
Rousseau said the DNA precipitation display is intended to temper the exhibition's artistic take on genomic issues with a taste of hard science.
"This is a really important part of the exhibit," she said. "There'll be all these abstract renderings of DNA, and it will be nice to show people what it really looks like."
The Center's support for the display came after Held sought the institute's participation in the exhibition's public programs.
"She wanted us to help demystify DNA for exhibition visitors," Rousseau said.
Point person
Because Rousseau lives in Seattle, she became the institute's point person on the project. And since she works at the Hutch, she gained support for it from the Center-including participation by other Hutch staff.
Rousseau chose the DNA precipitation display after consulting with Nancy Hutchison, director of the Center's Science Education Partnership. Visitors to the display will pour ethanol from one vial into another vial containing DNA suspended in clear liquid. The ethanol will draw the DNA out of suspension, and visitors can then wrap the long strands of DNA around wooden sticks
"They will get to see what the real thing is plus say to themselves, 'Science isn't that hard. I can do this,'" Rousseau said.
Public education efforts such as the DNA precipitation display go hand in hand with the institute's primary mission, which is to help scientists in developing nations use DNA for public health projects, she said.
