While the line between scientific research areas has long benefited from interdisciplinary investigation, the 21st century has brought greater attention to the interstitial areas between art and science. Nowhere is there a better example than the recent use of stem cells provided by Helen H. Lu, associate professor of biomedical engineering, to two artists from the University of Western Australia who are preparing a living artwork for display at the Museum of Modern Art.

Artists Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, who are affiliated with SymbioticA, the Art & Science Collaborative Research Laboratory at the University of Western Australia, are exhibiting their work at MoMA's current exhibition, Design and the Elastic Mind. The exhibition is billed as a survey of work that shows designers' ability to grasp changes in technology and convert them to objects and systems that people understand and use.

The work of Catts and Zurr uses tissue engineering to produce their art. At MoMA, they will exhibit their work entitled, "Victimless Leather-A Prototype of Stitch-less Jacket Grown in a Technoscientific Body," shown in their photo above. The creation is a small jacket made of biodegradable polymer that becomes the scaffold to support the growth of living tissue. "We are creating a new type of body," says Catts. "There is a reservoir of nutrients, a pump like a heart, and a method of gas exchange acting as the lung. The tissues will fill in the scaffolding and replace the polymer in the jacket, and within a month, the jacket will be living tissue." In a similar fashion, Catts and Zurr have created "Pig Wings," wing-like structures that consist of pig tissue.

"In this project, we have opened our laboratory to the two artists for their use in constructing the project, and are also providing the living component of this creative art work, i.e., the cells which are actually the grass root tissue engineers," said Professor Lu. "Moreover, stem cells have the ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types, including those cells that can make collagen or skin, which is the precursor for leather."

"What is unique about Oron and Ionat's work, and one of the reasons why I and my students, Kristen Moffat and Elaine Wang, agreed to assist with this project, is that this tissue engineering-based art work and the MoMA exhibit offer an unique forum through which the general public is presented with an interpretation of what tissue engineering is, and how this technology can be utilized," said Professor Lu. "This view may challenge our own perceptions and, in turn, engender debate, as one may or may not agree with the artist's presentation. As biomedical engineers, our own perception of what tissue engineering research is and its pivotal role in regenerative medicine are both challenged by a whole new interpretation of the potential impact of the tissue engineering methodologies that are developed in our laboratories. Artists and the art they create serve unique roles in our society, especially valuable in provoking us to stand back, pause and think about our work and, more importantly, consider how tissue engineering may be related to the world around us and how it may affect others. We believe these re-evaluations and debates are critical in any field, and is an essential element of how we move forward productively in today's technology-driven world."

The MoMA exhibit, on display from February 24-May 12, explores the relationship between design and science and the approach to scale. It will include objects, projects and concepts of designers, scientists and engineers.

Catts is SymbioticA's artistic director and one of its founders. It is an art and science collaborative research laboratory in the University of Western Australia's School of Anatomy and Human Biology. It is the first research laboratory of its kind in the world and enables artists and academics to engage in wet biology practices. It provides a permanent space for researchers to pursue curiosity-based explorations free of the demands and constraints associated with the current culture of scientific research, while still complying with regulations. Artists actively use the tools and technologies of science, exploring innovative directions. The University offers a master of science degree in biological arts as well as a certificate program in biological arts.

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