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| Drawing
from Life is a unique interactive experience comissioned by the
American Museum of Natural History for the Human Genome exhibit.
Drawing from Life transforms museum-goers into a life-sized
projected mirror in which they are composed of the letters that represent
DNA. Flickering 'A's 'T's 'G's and 'C's dance on a dark background
mirroring viewer's motions and gestures in real time. The letters
are color coded to match colors that scientists represent them with,
but vary in saturation to match the light levels in the incoming video.
Physical characteristics of individual viewers are abstracted, but
recognizable. The interaction is transparent and fluid as viewers
recognize and play with their transformed images.
While the interaction with 'Drawing from Life' is immediate and intuitive, conceptually the piece raises many important issues with out addressing them in a didactic fashion. Viewers recognize on a physiological level that the live 'DNA' image of themselves is both 'them' and 'not them'. It is a recognizable representation, but also an abstraction in the same sense that their DNA is both these things. The flickering symbols of 'ATGC's projected screen hint at the vitality and magic of life. At the same time the reduction of viewers into a set of four letters raises questions about the limits of genetics as a description of one's identity. While the installation offers a fun social interaction as viewers play with their own image and images of people around them, it also raises deeper issues about the relationship between genetics, identity, and scientific discovery. By reflecting viewers back to themselves at the end of the exhibit, the installation also reminds people that the social issues surrounding the use of the human genome project are all of our responsibility. The installation appeals to visitors of all ages and backgrounds in its immediacy, and yet raises questions without being didactic. The beauty of the colored letters flickering across the projection screens in step with viewers motions is also an aesthetically pleasing end to the Genomic Revolution exhibit. Exhibition History:
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