Plantimal IV, Eduardo Kac

Artwork Overview

born 1962
Plantimal IV, 2009
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: lambda print
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 42.7 x 42.7 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 16 13/16 x 16 13/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 44.2 x 44.2 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 17 3/8 x 17 3/8 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 20 1/4 x 20 1/4 x 1 in
Credit line: Museum purchase: Letha Churchill Walker Memorial Art Fund
Accession number: 2014.0016
Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World
Eduardo Kac is a pioneer in the field of Bioart, which incorporates living organisms. Kac’s work challenges widely held beliefs about human beings and their role in nature. His Plantimals are plants that are not found in nature, but are the result of combining his own DNA with a petunia’s DNA. The existence of the Plantimal challenges the widely held belief that humans ought not mingle or interfere with nature. Further, the Plantimal expresses the complexity of humans’ relationships to the plant world. For instance, humans are made up of the same materials as plants and are therefore similar to botanical beings.
Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World
Eduardo Kac is a pioneer in the field of Bioart, which incorporates living organisms. Kac’s work challenges widely held beliefs about human beings and their role in nature. His Plantimals are plants that are not found in nature, but are the result of combining his own DNA with a petunia’s DNA. The existence of the Plantimal challenges the widely held belief that humans ought not mingle or interfere with nature. Further, the Plantimal expresses the complexity of humans’ relationships to the plant world. For instance, humans are made up of the same materials as plants and are therefore similar to botanical beings.

Exhibitions

Citations

Goddard, Stephen H, ed. Big Botany Conversations with the Plant World. Lawrence, Kansas: Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, 2018.