Genetic data and the molecular gaze: a new portraiture
It is a pivotal time in medical genetics…a field that is exploding with discoveries, breakthroughs as well as misunderstandings and controversies over how we use and interpret genetic data. In 2009, I initiated and facilitated a unique collaboration between Geraldine Ondrizek, an artist working at the intersection of art and medical science and Robin Bennett, a pioneering genetic counselor and her team of research scientists at the University of Washington’s Medical Genetics Center. Ondrizek is a research-based artist and professor at Reed College who has worked closely with genetic scientists to trace ethnic identities, portray life spans, and depict genetically inherited conditions.Robin Bennett, senior genetic counselor, works closely with patients and families who are concerned about inherited diseases. This 3 year project culminated in 3 bodies of work and several exhibitions that forged visual, scientific and metaphorical discoveries. Our goal with this collaborative inquiry at the intersection of art and the more scientific realm of human identity was to make genetics visible, accessible and better understood.
Genevieve Gaiser Tremblay is an interdisciplinary artist, educator and curator. Her generative practice, public scholarship and curatorial efforts are focused on the transformational possibilities of digital, social, mobile, mapping and gaming technologies. She creates actionable collaborations with innovators who develop and apply these emerging technologies to health, civic and social challenges. Building bridges between these interdisciplinary realms is her specialty.
In 2000, she co-founded Cultural Entrepreneurs, a consulting firm bringing together visionary leaders from business, technology, design, and the social sciences to rapidly incubate new design and technology-based initiatives. She recently served as inaugural Mentor-in-Residence for the University of Washington’s Museology’s flagship Emerging Curator Initiative (ECI), a national model for training curators in the field. Currently, Genevieve teaches in the Design Department at Cornish College of the Arts, working with fourth year design students to address complex integrated design challenges and steward their development of theoretical, research driven capstone projects.
Genevieve received her MFA (Studio for Inter-related Media) from Massachusetts College of Art and received her BFA (Intermedia) from Carnegie Mellon University