We are at a threshold, witnesses to the moment when genetic research is rewriting the definition of life. Biotechnology is altering the food we eat, and the information revealed by the decoding of the human genome will give science, medicine, and business unprecedented power. Increasingly, the news media and popular culture are alerting the public to the heated dialogue that is underway about what our brave new world might become. Daily, the unusual procedures and outrageous predictions that were once the subject of science fiction are announced as realities. Each new announcement triggers hope and controversy and guarantees further debate among humanitarians, profit seekers, legal experts, ethicists, politicians, nations, and the public, all in search of paradise, now.

Artists have claimed an important role in this ongoing exploration, creating images that literally give shape to abstract, complex concepts. Stretching the traditions of portraiture and landscape, working with the genetic revolutionís new language and images, they raise questions about the social, ecological, economic, and ethical implications of scienceís breakthroughs. The works in Paradise Now investigate urgent issues and concerns triggered by the modification of human cells, nature, and food, and provide viewers with an opportunity to pay closer attention to the dramatic advances in science and to reflect upon the boundaries between science and the human imagination. Some artists make use of new scientific images and information to explore the meaning of identity and the options that can alter our understanding of individuality. They speculate about how the genetic revolution will force us to rethink race, the inevitability of disease and death, and our need to control our bodies, our lives, and our fate. Others consider how we shape nature to meet our desires and demands, manipulating the genetic makeup and enhancing the size and productivity of animals and plants.

With the new power of biotechnology come progress, debate, and protest. Will we live longer, healthier, more perfect lives? Will new discoveries and products have unsuspected consequences to the land and to our health? How will each of us face the challenges, choices, and opportunities that the genetic revolution promises? The artists in Paradise Now speculate about these new parameters of life and these expressions of scientific and corporate creativity with a mixture of awe and concern.

Marvin Heiferman Carole Kismaric