Many buildings around Iowa State Campus have very unique designs. Each design in each building have very deep meanings to understand the history and purpose of the building. One of the buildings that stood out was from an artist named Andrew Leicester who created the G-Nome on the Molecular Biology Building in 1992 and many other artifacts as part of the G-Nome Project.
The G-Nome comes from two different words: Gnome (a dwarf-like creature that usually guards precious treasure) and genome (a scientific term for a complete set of chromosomes). There are four G-Nomes, each twelve feet terra-cotta structures on each corner of the Molecular Biology Building.
The G-Nome is an abstract piece of art. It is not easily understood by just looking at it at first glance. Each detailed component contains a specific meaning which would make this an informational sculpture. It is very repetitious by using the same checkered or linear patterns across the whole body. It is balanced by being completely symmetrical from the left side and the right with the exception of the rods in each arm. The structures contain very few colors with opposite hues and values which help emphasis each part more clearly. …show more content…
“Leicester discovered that while genetic engineering holds the promise of finding ways to prevent diseases, it also holds the potential for exploitation or accident. Even before genetics was understood scientifically, people feared the combination of species. It was thought that dragons and monsters could be the result. The sculptures and mosaics of Andrew Leicester's G-Nome Project ask the viewer to prepare for the future. It is our responsibility to think seriously about the ethical issues surrounding the technological frontier of genetic research”
The G-Nome comes from two different words: Gnome (a dwarf-like creature that usually guards precious treasure) and genome (a scientific term for a complete set of chromosomes). There are four G-Nomes, each twelve feet terra-cotta structures on each corner of the Molecular Biology Building.
The G-Nome is an abstract piece of art. It is not easily understood by just looking at it at first glance. Each detailed component contains a specific meaning which would make this an informational sculpture. It is very repetitious by using the same checkered or linear patterns across the whole body. It is balanced by being completely symmetrical from the left side and the right with the exception of the rods in each arm. The structures contain very few colors with opposite hues and values which help emphasis each part more clearly. …show more content…
“Leicester discovered that while genetic engineering holds the promise of finding ways to prevent diseases, it also holds the potential for exploitation or accident. Even before genetics was understood scientifically, people feared the combination of species. It was thought that dragons and monsters could be the result. The sculptures and mosaics of Andrew Leicester's G-Nome Project ask the viewer to prepare for the future. It is our responsibility to think seriously about the ethical issues surrounding the technological frontier of genetic research”