Biotechnology can be defined as the exploitation or "manipulation of biological process for industrial purposes." Although this very technical definition fails to reveal the connection between art and biotechnology, it does explain the core of biotechnology and the basis for how it could influence art. Biotechnology has allowed for manipulation of biological beings in unconventional ways, including methods that interconnect with art.
Eduardo Kac used the science of biotechnology to genetically modify rabbits in such a way that they would glow a fluorescent green. Beyond "green bunnies," however, biotechnology has made the notion of like as a expressive medium more attainable. Art forms like tattoos and plastic surgery from last weeks art topic are more obvious forms of utilizing one's body as an expressive medium but biotechnology allows us to manipulate from the inside out. The green fluorescent bunny could be seen as the beginning of a generation of unique and beautiful beings based on genetic modification. In essence, biotechnology has moved us beyond whether life can be an expressive medium and into a different question: is it moral or just to use our own and other's bodies for the purpose of art if it involves manipulation in a biological sense? Some may argue that this type of modification is similar to playing god, even if the outcome is for personal expression. 
While the green fluorescent rabbits may be a more extreme and blatant example of biotechnology as "art" modification, other forms of genetic modification exist. One of the more controversial forms of modifications is genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs have been genetically altered to be resistance to different diseases and also to be more aesthetically pleasing. Attributes like color intensity and size are selected genetically because the appearance of a fruit or vegetable is often the only characteristic that people use to select which foods to eat or buy. People cannot see nutritional attributes like vitamins, however, the reddest and brightest tomato may be used by people to designate the tomato as healthy or delicious.Beyond GMO vegetables and fruits, animals have long been breed for certain characteristics. In the past, animals were bred based on characteristics like which cow would produce more milk, which animals was the largest or prettiest, this in itself was a form of genetic modification although not as advanced as biotechnology. Either way, the outcome was an "art form" in itself. The resultign animal would have certain attributes that the creator or "artist" desired. Today, biotechnology has allowed for extreme modifications of animals. For example, the "super cows" of China have been genetically engineered to produce milk resembling human breast milk. More striking, however, is there sheer size. More than double the size of a regular cow, these cows resemble the physique of body builders. People have gone so far as to call these animals beautiful, because there body mass seems equivalent to that of a body builder intent on perfecting his physique. Biotechnology has opened a new realm of art, one that uses the biological processes of organisms to achieve new aesthetic and genetic heights. Whether this can be considered art is something very controversial, and although it is unclear if genetic modification will ever truly be considered an art form suitable for humans, biotechnology and those who practice it are pioneers in the relationship between beauty and technology.
Sources:
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Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.
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