IN THE PRESENCE OF THE BODY 2

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE BODY 2
July 2nd, September 30th, 2007

“In the Presence of the Body 2” is an exhibition and
screening in conjunction with the BioArt Initiative of
the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary
Studies (CBIS) and Rensselaer’s Arts Department, Troy,
NY dedicated to art, biology and society.
Curator: Boryana Rossa

Contact: Laura Andruski, 518-276-4829,
andrul@rpi.edu,
Boryana Rossa, 518-542-4161, bori999@yahoo.com

Opening reception:
Monday, July 2nd, 6-8 pm, Center for Biotechnology and
Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute

Screening:
Thursday, July 18th, 6-7 pm, Center for Biotechnology
and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS), Bruggeman
Conference Center

“In The Presence of The Body 2” Description:
In the Presence of the Body 2 is an exhibition event
of the ground breaking BioArt Initiative for
collaboration between the Department of Electronic Art
and the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary
Studies (CBIS) at RPI that is already running in full
speed. The initiative brings together cutting-edge
biotechnology resources with its world-class
electronic arts community. This show is an extension
of the first exhibition, “In the Presence of the Body”
that was meant to be an introduction to the field.
This time a documentation of bio-art projects of
established artists from USA, Australia, Russia and
Bulgaria will be presented aiming to reach larger
audience of the university and the local community.
These works will engage the public with an educational
and critical overview of some of the aspects of bio
technological research and its current applications. A
video projection in the lobby will support the
exposition in the atrium.

Artists in the show include: SymbioticA Research
Lab--Guy Ben-Ary, Tanja Visocevic, Bruce Murphy
(Australia), Julia Reodica (USA), Eduardo Kac (USA),
Paul Vanouse (USA), Ultrafuturo--Boryana Rossa, Oleg
Mavromatti, Katia Damianova, Anton Terziev
(Bulgaria/Russia) and Where are the Dogs Running
(Russia).

Screening:
In conjunction with the exhibition, a screening of
video works and documentaries about artists dealing
with more provocative biological topics will be shown.
These works are intended to provoke a debate about
controversial issues that should be discussed in a
democratic society. The topics presented in these
works may be deemed offensive by certain people –
discretion is advised.

Films by:
Critical Art Ensemble (USA), Rich Pell (USA),
SymbioticA Reserch Lab—Oron Cats, Ionat Zurr and Guy
Ben-Ary (Australia) and Bioteknica—Jennifer Willet and
Shawn Bailey (Canada).

About the BioArt Initiative: The BioArt Initiative is
a collaborative research project between Rensselaer’s
Arts Department and the Center for Biotechnology and
Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS). This project
proposes to lay the foundation establishing RPI as a
premiere institution for the synthesis of emerging
biotechnological research and media art practice. The
potential for creating a mutually supportive and
critically engaged culture between art, engineering
and science exists at RPI to a degree that is possible
in only a select few universities worldwide.