- Hunter O'Reilly
Hunter O'Reilly is both an internationally shown artist and an experienced geneticist. She reinterprets science as art through the creation of living artworks, abstractions, digital art and installations confronting issues related to biotechnology in our culture. Born
September 7 ,1971 inSan Francisco ,California , O’Reilly holds a Ph.D. and Masters degree in Genetics from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison , and a Bachelor of Science from theUniversity of California-Berkeley . [http://nature.berkeley.edu/breakthroughs/breakthroughs/break_mystory_fa07.pdf Ludwig, Stephanie. “Hunter O’Reilly: Finds the Art in Pathology.”] "Breakthroughs Magazine: College of Natural Resources" (University of California – Berkeley) Fall2007 .]"Living Drawings" exhibitions
Recently she has created a series of "Living Drawings" with bioluminescent bacteria. These "Living Drawings" depict the cycle of life and death calling attention to our own mortality. O’Reilly creates controlled line drawings using bioluminescent bacteria. The bacteria then grow in the host environment. Bacteria become collaborators in the art as it grows and dies. First appearing with bright light, bacteria in the drawing are photographed as it uses up available nutrients, gradually dying-off over a two-week period. The cover of the April 2004 issue of "Nature Genetics" featured one of these "Living Drawings". [http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n4/covers/index.html "Nature Genetics" 36.4] (April
2004 ): cover.] [http://www.artbyhunter.com/artgallery/livingbacterialdrawings/naturegenetics.html "Nature Genetics" 36.4] (April2004 ): cover.] O’Reilly’s Living Drawings were a part of a group exhibition, "It’s Alive! A Laboratory of BioTech Art", at Monserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts in 2007. [http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/52933/ Weir, Kirsten. “Biotechnology on display: A gallery-turned-laboratory fuses art and science.”] "www.the-scientist.com"9 March 2007 .] [http://www.eagletribune.com/pulife/local_story_047120415 Schoonmaker, Rebecca. “Montserrat comes ‘Alive’ with a new show melding science and art.”] "The Eagle-Tribune"16 February 2007 .] [http://thephoenix.com/Article.aspx?id=36206&page=1 Cook, Greg. “Culture War Games.”] "The Phoenix" (Boston, MA)27 March 2007 .] [http://medgadget.com/archives/2007/02/its_alive_and_i.html “It's Alive, and It's Kind of Disturbing.”] "medgadget.com"20 February 2007 .] O’Reilly’s "Living Drawings" have had solo shows at the Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago, Illinois in 2006 [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/artner.html Artner, Alan G. “Art Reviews: Drawings Seduce with Illusion of Spontaneity.”] "Chicago Tribune"7 April 2006 .] and the Honors College atOakland University in Rochester, Michigan in 2005.Academic career
O’Reilly is often listed with other artists who create what is often referred to as
bioart . [http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2002/08/54550 Philipkoski, Kristen. “Behold: ‘Ebola Is Beautiful.”] "www.wired.com"19 August 2002 .] [http://journals2005.pasteur.ac.ir/NB/23(11)/1331.pdf Herrera, Stephan. “Eduardo Kac.”] "Nature Biotechnology" 23.11 (November2005 ): 1331.] O'Reilly has taught both biology and art atLoyola University Chicago , theUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and theUniversity of Wisconsin-Parkside . She joined the faculty in the Biology Department atLoyola University Chicago in the Fall 2004. [http://www1.luc.edu/insideloyola/062405/profile.shtml "Inside Loyola" (News for Faculty and Staff of Loyola University Chicago)] June/July2005 .] Notedly, in 2000, O’Reilly created a course, "Biology through Art", first offered atUniversity of Wisconsin-Parkside , where students have opportunities to create innovative artworks in a biology laboratory. [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/cole.pdf Cole, Kevin. "Art and Science 101, Deconstructing Hunter: Will the Real Bionic Woman Please Stand Up?"] "Dialogue: the art, architecture, and design journal of the Heartland" July/August2003 .] Currently she teaches this course atLoyola University Chicago .http://www.luc.edu/biology/bs_courses.shtml Loyola University Chicago – Course Offerings] ] " biology="" through="" art"="" helps="" students="" from="" all="" disciplines="" to="" think="" outside="" the="" box.="" this="" course="" focuses="" on="" several="" areas="" in="" biological="" sciences="" molecular="" human="" anatomy.="" view="" microorganisms;="" use="" dna="" as="" an="" artistic="" medium,="" create="" music="" based="" sequence,="" and="" see="" anatomy="" art.="" contemporary="" artists="" that="" concepts="" materials="" their="" art="" are="" discussed.Beginning Fall 2008 at
Loyola University Chicago , O’Reilly will be teaching a new course she created titled, "BioArt : Exploring Living Organisms through Art". The course will focus on art that incorporates living organisms. The course will also look at art that incorporates actual blood as a medium in the art. With her extensive laboratory experience, O’Reilly brings a unique and challenging perspective to the world of biotechnology via art.Grants and commissions
O’Reilly has received grants from the Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program, the Puffin Foundation and the University of Michigan Life Sciences, Values and Society Program to create art for exhibitions reinterpreting science as art looking at positive aspects of biotechnology. In 2006 the National Institutes of Health commissioned her to create paintings based on cancer genomics and cancer proteomics.
"Genetic Revelations" and "Radioactive Biohazard" exhibitions
O'Reilly's exhibition "Genetic Revelations" was presented at the University of Alabama School of Public Health in Birmingham, Alabama in January-April 2004. [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/stannard.html Stannard, Jennifer. "O'Reilly Art Exhibit Fuses Art and Science."] "Kaleidoscope"
17 February 2004 .] "Radioactive Biohazard" showed the Porter Butts Gallery at the [University of Wisconsin-Madison] in January/February 2003, [12] at the Warren Robbins Gallery at the University of Michigan in September 2002, [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/detroitfreepress.html Provenzano, Frank. "DNArtist: The lab inspires geneticist's artwork, on exhibit at U-M."] "Detroit Free Press"4 September 2002 .] http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/annarbornews.html Cantu, John Carlos. " joining="" art,="" science:="" geneticist's="" work,="" on="" display="" at="" robbins="" gallery,="" explores="" ethics."<="" i="">] "Ann Arbor News"14 September 2002 .] [http://www.ur.umich.edu/0203/Sep03_02/27.html Newvine, Colleen. “Geneticist brings art exhibit about ethical questions of science to U-M.”] "The University Record" (University of Michigan)3 September 2002 .] and at the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (Milwaukee) in 2001. [http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2001/04/20/28428.html "Radioactive Biohazard: Dr. Hunter O'Reilly, Ph.D. and Electric Eye Neon."] "AbsoluteArts.com Arts News"20 April 2001 .] In the "Radioactive Biohazard" exhibit O'Reilly confronts issues related to human cloning, stem cell research, and the human genome project, among others. O’Reilly’s art has been shown internationally including New York, San Francisco, England, Italy, Japan and the Czech Republic.Journal covers
O’Reilly’s art also has been featured on the covers of several scientific journals including "Nature Biotechnology" (July 2005), [http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v23/n7/covers/index.html "Nature Biotechnology" 23.7] (July
2005 ): cover.] "Nature Genetics" (April 2004), "Genetics in Medicine" (September/October 2002; November/December 1999 [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/gim.html "Genetics in Medicine" 1.7] (November/December1999 ): cover.] ), "Nature Reviews Genetics" (September 2001http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v2/n9/index.html " nature="" reviews="" genetics"="" 2.9<="" i="">] (September2001 ): cover.] [http://www.artbyhunter.com/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/MadonnaconClon.html "Nature Reviews Genetics" 2.9] (September2001 ): cover.] ; August 2001 [http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v2/n8/index.html "Nature Reviews Genetics" 2.8] (August2001 ): cover.] http://www.artbyhunter.com/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/uniqueclones.html " nature="" reviews="" genetics"="" 2.8<="" i="">] (August2001 ): cover.] ; January 2001http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v2/n1/index.html " nature="" reviews="" genetics"="" 2.1<="" i="">] (January2001 ): cover.] [http://www.artbyhunter.com/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/dnaiseverywhere.html "Nature Reviews Genetics" 2.1] (January2001 ): cover.] ), "Trends in Ecology and Evolution" (June 2001),"Trends in Ecology and Evolution" 16.6 (June2001 ): cover.] "Developmental Dynamics" (September 2000), [http://www.artbyhunter.com/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/exploring.html "Developmental Dynamics" 219.1] (September2000 ): cover.] "The EMBO Journal" (December 15, 1999 [http://www.nature.com/emboj/journal/v18/n24/index.html "The EMBO Journal" 18.24] (December 15 ,1999 : cover.] [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/embo3.html "The EMBO Journal" 18.24] (December 15 ,1999 ): cover.] ; November 2, 1998 [http://www.nature.com/emboj/journal/v17/n21/index.html "The EMBO Journal" 17.21] (November 2 ,1998 ): cover.] [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/embo2.html "The EMBO Journal" 17.21] (November 2 ,1998 ): cover.] ; August 3, 1998 [http://www.nature.com/emboj/journal/v17/n15/index.html "The EMBO Journal" 17.15] (August 3 ,1998 ): cover.] [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/embo1.html "The EMBO Journal" 17.15] (August 3 ,1998 ): cover.] ) and "Neural Notes" (Winter 1999). [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/neuralnotes.html "Neural Notes" 4.3] (Winter1999 ): cover.]Articles
O’Reilly co-authored a paper on “Art and Genetics” with Joe Davis, Dana Boyd and Marek Wieczorek published in the "Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (ELS)". [http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/emrw/9780470015902/els/article/a0005868/current/abstract Joe Davis, Dana Boyd, Hunter O’Reilly and Marek Wieczorek. “Art and Genetics.”] "Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (ELS)" ed.
2006 .] O’Reilly has been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Publications that have discussed O'Reilly's work in art and science, among others, include "Science", [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/science.html Holden, Constance. "Yes, This Is Art."] "Science"26 July 2002 .] "The Scientist", [http://www.ekac.org/thescientist.2002.html Cohen, Hal. "Bioscience Moves into Galleries as Bioart."] "The Scientist"11 November 2002 .] [http://www.artbyhunter.com/media/thescientist.html Cohen, Hal. "Life posing as art."] "The Scientist"30 September 2002 .] the "Chicago Tribune", "Detroit Free Press",Provenzano, Frank. "Biotechnology and ethics." "Detroit Free Press"4 September 2002 .] "Muy Interesante"Sacristán, Alejandro. "Genes con arte." "Muy Interesante" March2003 . (Spain)] in Spain, "Le Monde""Désirs de Clonage." "Le Monde"28 December 2002 . (France)] in France and "Beaux Arts magazine" [http://www.ekac.org/lavrador.html Lavrador, Judicaël. "Bio Art: La Gènes Génération."] "Beaux Arts magazine" November2002 . (France)] in France. Additionally, O'Reilly has presented seminars onbioart at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at the Dialogue Between Science and Art Workshop in Hluboka, Czech Republic.eminars
*Panel Discussion, Montserrat College of Art, Montserrat Gallery, Beverly, MA, March 16, 2007.
*Artreach Lecture Series, Montserrat College of Art, Montserrat Gallery, Beverly, MA, March 16, 2007.
*Aglow in the Dark: Art/Science and Bioluminescene, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, January 25, 2007.
*Tri-Beta, Biological Honor Society Lambda Omega Chapter, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, January 22, 2007.
*Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, IL, April 2, 2006.
*Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium Keynote Address, Chicago, IL, April 1, 2006.
*Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL, March 7, 2006.
*Dialogue Between Science and Art Workshop, Hluboka, Czech Republic, July 2005.
*Honors College at Oakland University, Rochester, MI, March 21, 2005.
*University of Alabama School of Public Health, Birmingham, AL, February 20, 2004.
*Dialogue Between Science and Art Workshop, Hluboka, Czech Republic, July 16, 2003.
*University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, January 31, 2003.
*University of Michigan Genetics Department, Ann Arbor, MI, September 23, 2002.
*University of Michigan School of Art and Design, Ann Arbor, MI, September 20, 2002.
*Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD), Milwaukee, WI, April 24, 2002.
*Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, March 13, 2002.
*University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI, February 15, 2002.
*Walker's Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI, May 5, 2001.References
External links
* [http://www.artbyhunter.com Official Hunter O'Reilly Website]
* [http://www.artbyhunter.com/artgallery/livingbacterialdrawings/index.html Living Drawings Exhibit by Hunter O’Reilly]
* [http://www.RadioactiveBiohazard.com Radioactive Biohazard Exhibit by Hunter O’Reilly]
* [http://www.luc.edu/biology/hunter.shtml Hunter O’Reilly Loyola University Chicago Website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.