Yesterday, Ian sent me an email with this in it:

now, the next one is going to rock you a bit.... remember that there is nothing new under the sun, and ideas are not as valuable as thet once were, nowadays it is more what you do with them and how it is presented, and your project is very much about the public engagement and the absurdity..

anyway, i suggest you email the artist Amy Youngs, who for a few years now has apparently been trying to grow a BLUE dandelion! or i can email her if you feel weird doing it..

http://accad.osu.edu/~ayoungs/hyperind.html

her objectives, though there is some overlap, are different, and her struggle is not public.. but anyway...? as far as i can tell she has had no success.



So, I emailed her:

Amy Youngs,

My name is Nicole Wilson and I am a student at Tyler School of Art/ Temple University in Philadelphia. This summer I received a research grant to create a pink dandelion. My professor and mentor, Ian Burns, recently showed me your project to create a blue dandelion and suggested that I contact you. I update my research at http://pinkdandelionproject.blogspot.com and have a sculpture (which I view as a stand in for the art making) at the Crane Arts building (http://www.cranearts.com/?p=1039).

I was wondering if you have had any success in creating a blue dandelion or if your project is purely speculative?

I look forward to hearing back from you!

Thank you

Nicole Wilson

And, I heard back from her:

Hello Nicole,

Project Pink Dandelion sounds fun!

The project I did, Hypernatural Industries: Project Dandelion, was indeed pure speculation - with a dose of digital image manipulation and a seed sculpture to go with it. I was thinking about how this kind of thing might develop - once it is made and spread around, will it be as uncontrollable as the yellow type? The uncontrolled nature of the dandelion makes them commonly seen and my sense is that is why they are so hated and deemed "weeds". It seems they would need to be less common and more easily controlled by humans in order to be loved.

My favorite writer about genetic art is George Gessert. If you have not yet read his article called "Notes on Genetic Art," (in Leonardo 26, No. 3) I think you will enjoy it. Blue roses are discussed.

Laura Cinti comes to mind as another artist you will want to know about, if you don't already. She worked with scientists to create a cactus that grew human hair. And of course there is Eduardo Kac's latest project that combines his own genes into a petunia. Exciting times. If you end up focusing in bio art, you might consider doing this new residency in Portugal called Cultivamos Cultura, http://cultivamoscultura.blogspot.com/ which is organized by Marta deMenezes, the artist who genetically manipulates butterfly wings, among other things.

If a pink dandelion is made, I definitely want to know about it. I subscribed to your blog.

Good luck!

amy