# Hunter Cole

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**Hunter Cole** is an artist and 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.

## Early life and education

Hunter Cole was known as Hunter O'Reilly until January 2009. She has a bachelor's degree from the [University of California-Berkeley](/source/University_of_California-Berkeley) and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the [University of Wisconsin–Madison](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison).[1]

## Career

### *Living Light: Photographs by the Light of Bioluminescent Bacteria* exhibitions

Hunter Cole has created several photographic series that incorporate the medium of bioluminescent bacteria. Entitled, *Living Light: Photographs by the Light of Bioluminescent Bacteria,* the series include *Living Drawings,* *Bioluminescent Portraits and Installations,* *Bioluminescent Weddings,* and *Bioluminescent Nudes,* each its own thematic grouping of images which will be shown in a solo exhibition at the ARC Gallery in Chicago in January 2018. The *Bioluminescent Nudes* series is the most recent starting in 2017. In *Living Drawings* Cole created drawings with living bioluminescent bacteria and photographed them as they grow and die. Cole has also photographed artists and scientists, wedding photographs, and nudes by the light of bioluminescent bacteria. One of the biological functions of bioluminescence in nature is communication for mating. Cole is recognized among the innovators in the art/science genre, and is one of the first artists to produce significant works using bioluminescent light. *Living Light: Photographs by the Light of Bioluminescent Bacteria* have been discussed recently in *Interalia Magazine,*[2] *Art the Science,*[3] *PNAS,*[4] *Clot Magazine,*[5] and *MEDinArt.*[6] Images of the *Living Light* series have been shown at several group exhibitions including *Cognitive Bias: Visual thinking for a digital age* at the Drawing Room, London, England, *Fusion: Art Inspired by Science* at the [Westchester Community College](/source/Westchester_Community_College) Center For The Arts, White Plains, NY, *Head, Shoulders, Genes & Toes* at [Florida State University](/source/Florida_State_University) Museum of Fine Arts in Tallahassee, Florida, *Post Natural* at The ISIS Gallery at the [University of Notre Dame](/source/University_of_Notre_Dame) in conjunction with the Society for Literature, Science and Art Conference in [Notre Dame, Indiana](/source/Notre_Dame,_Indiana), and *Vital Signs* at [New York Hall of Science](/source/New_York_Hall_of_Science), Queens New York.

### *Living Drawings* exhibitions

She is creating a series of *Living Drawings* with bioluminescent bacteria. These *Living Drawings* depict the cycle of life and death calling attention to our own mortality. Cole 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. Cole's *Living Drawings* have been discussed recently in *Interalia Magazine,*[2] *Art the Science,*[3] *PNAS,*,[4] *Clot Magazine,*[5] and *MEDinArt.*[6] The cover of the April 2004 issue of *Nature Genetics* featured one of these *Living Drawings*.[7][8] Cole's Living Drawings have been a part of several group exhibitions such as *Cognitive Bias: Visual thinking for a digital age* at the Drawing Room in London, UK in 2016, *Fusion: Art Inspired by Science* at Westchester Community College Center for the Arts in White Plains, NY in 2016, and *It's Alive! A Laboratory of BioTech Art*, at [Montserrat College of Art](/source/Montserrat_College_of_Art) in [Beverly, Massachusetts](/source/Beverly,_Massachusetts) in 2007.[9][10][11] Cole's *Living Drawings* have had solo shows at the Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago, Illinois in 2006[12] and the Honors College at [Oakland University](/source/Oakland_University) in [Rochester, Michigan](/source/Rochester,_Michigan) in 2005.

### Academia

Cole is often listed with other artists who create what is often referred to as [bioart](/source/Bioart).[13][14] Cole has taught both biology and art at [Loyola University Chicago](/source/Loyola_University_Chicago), the [University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Milwaukee) and the [University of Wisconsin–Parkside](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Parkside). She joined the faculty in the Biology Department at [Loyola University Chicago](/source/Loyola_University_Chicago) in the Fall 2004.[15] Notedly, in 2001, Cole created a course, *Biology through Art*, first offered at [University of Wisconsin–Parkside](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Parkside), where students have opportunities to create innovative artworks in a biology laboratory.[16] Currently, she teaches this course at [Loyola University Chicago](/source/Loyola_University_Chicago).[17] *Biology through Art* helps students from all disciplines to think outside the box. This course focuses on several areas in the biological sciences from molecular biology to human anatomy. Students view microorganisms; use DNA as an artistic medium, create music based on DNA sequence, and see anatomy as art. Contemporary artists that use biological concepts and biological materials in their art are discussed.

Beginning Fall 2008 at [Loyola University Chicago](/source/Loyola_University_Chicago), Cole taught a new course she created titled, *[BioArt](/source/BioArt): Exploring Living Organisms through Art*. The course focuses on art that incorporates living organisms, and also look at art that incorporates actual blood as a medium in the art.

### Grants and commissions

Cole has received grants from the Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program, the [Puffin Foundation](/source/Puffin_Foundation) and the [University of Michigan](/source/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](/source/National_Institutes_of_Health) commissioned her to create paintings based on cancer genomics and cancer proteomics.

### *Genetic Revelations* and *Radioactive Biohazard* exhibitions

Cole's exhibition *Genetic Revelations* was presented at the University of Alabama School of Public Health in [Birmingham, Alabama](/source/Birmingham,_Alabama) from January to April 2004.[18] *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,[19][20][21] and at the Walker's Point Center for the Arts (Milwaukee) in 2001.[22] In the *Radioactive Biohazard* exhibit, Cole confronts issues related to [human cloning](/source/Human_cloning), stem cell research, and the [human genome project](/source/Human_Genome_Project), among others. Cole's art has been shown internationally including New York, San Francisco, England, Italy, Japan and the Czech Republic.

### Journal covers

Cole's art also has been featured on the covers of several scientific journals including *Nature Biotechnology* (July 2005),[23] *Nature Genetics* (April 2004),[7][8] *Genetics in Medicine* (September/October 2002; November/December 1999[24]), *Nature Reviews Genetics* (September 2001;[25][26] August 2001;[27][28] January 2001[29][30]), *Trends in Ecology and Evolution* (June 2001),[31] *Developmental Dynamics* (September 2000),[32] *The EMBO Journal* (December 15, 1999);[33][34] November 2, 1998;[35][36] (August 3, 1998)[37][38] and *Neural Notes* (Winter 1999).[39]

### Articles

Cole co-authored a paper on "Art and Genetics" with Joe Davis, Dana Boyd and Marek Wieczorek published in the *Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (ELS)*.[40] Cole has been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Publications that have discussed Cole's work in art and science, among others, include *Science*,[41] *The Scientist*,[9][42][43] the *Chicago Tribune*,[12] *Detroit Free Press*,[19][44] *Muy Interesante*[45] in Spain, *Le Monde*[46] in France and *Beaux Arts magazine*[47] in France. Additionally, Cole has presented seminars on [bioart](/source/Bioart) at the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology) (MIT) and at the Dialogue Between Science and Art Workshop in Hluboka, Czech Republic.

## References

1. [Ludwig, Stephanie. "Hunter O’Reilly: Finds the Art in Pathology."](http://nature.berkeley.edu/breakthroughs/breakthroughs/break_mystory_fa07.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20081124214852/http://nature.berkeley.edu/breakthroughs/breakthroughs/break_mystory_fa07.pdf) 2008-11-24 at the Wayback Machine *Breakthroughs Magazine: College of Natural Resources* (University of California – Berkeley) Fall 2007.

1. ["Living Light: Bioluminescent Art."](https://www.interaliamag.org/articles/hunter-cole-living-light-bioluminescent-art/) *Interalia Magazine* December 2016.

1. [Pederson, Alex. " Creators-Hunter Cole."](https://artthescience.com/blog/2016/10/07/creators-hunter-cole/) *Art the Science* October 7, 2016.

1. [Madhusoodanan, Jyoti. "Science and Culture: Petri palettes create microbial masterpieces."](http://www.pnas.org/content/113/40/11056.long) *PNAS* October 4, 2016.

1. [Criado, Lula. "Hunter Cole."](http://www.clotmag.com/hunter-cole) *Clot Magazine* January 2016.

1. [Hatzis, Vasia. "Hunter Cole: Living Drawings with Bioluminescent Bacteria."](http://www.medinart.eu/works/hunter-cole/) *MEDinART* October 2015.

1. [*Nature Genetics* 36.4](http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n4/covers/index.html) (April 2004): cover.

1. [*Nature Genetics* 36.4](http://www.huntercole.org/artgallery/livingbacterialdrawings/naturegenetics.html) (April 2004): cover.

1. [Weir, Kirsten. "Biotechnology on display: A gallery-turned-laboratory fuses art and science."](http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/52933/) *www.the-scientist.com* 9 March 2007.

1. [Schoonmaker, Rebecca. "Montserrat comes ‘Alive’ with a new show melding science and art."](http://www.eagletribune.com/pulife/local_story_047120415) *The Eagle-Tribune* 16 February 2007.

1. [Cook, Greg. "Culture War Games."](http://thephoenix.com/Article.aspx?id=36206&page=1) *The Phoenix* (Boston, MA) 27 March 2007.

1. [Artner, Alan G. "Art Reviews: Drawings Seduce with Illusion of Spontaneity."](http://www.huntercole.org/media/artner.html) *Chicago Tribune* 7 April 2006.

1. [Philipkoski, Kristen. "Behold: ‘Ebola Is Beautiful."](https://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2002/08/54550) *www.wired.com* 19 August 2002.

1. [Herrera, Stephan. "Eduardo Kac."](http://journals2005.pasteur.ac.ir/NB/23(11)/1331.pdf) *Nature Biotechnology* 23.11 (November 2005): 1331.

1. [*Inside Loyola* (News for Faculty and Staff of Loyola University Chicago)](http://www1.luc.edu/insideloyola/062405/profile.shtml) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080421214432/http://www1.luc.edu/insideloyola/062405/profile.shtml) 2008-04-21 at the Wayback Machine June/July 2005.

1. [Cole, Kevin. "Art and Science 101, Deconstructing Hunter: Will the Real Bionic Woman Please Stand Up?"](http://www.huntercole.org/media/cole.pdf) *Dialogue: the art, architecture, and design journal of the Heartland* July/August 2003.

1. ["Loyola University Chicago – Course Offerings"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080318200110/http://luc.edu/biology/bs_courses.shtml). Archived from [the original](http://www.luc.edu/biology/bs_courses.shtml) on 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2008-05-15.

1. [Stannard, Jennifer. "O'Reilly Art Exhibit Fuses Art and Science."](http://www.huntercole.org/media/stannard.html) *Kaleidoscope* 17 February 2004.

1. [Provenzano, Frank. "DNArtist: The lab inspires geneticist's artwork, on exhibit at U-M."](http://www.huntercole.org/media/detroitfreepress.html) *Detroit Free Press* 4 September 2002.

1. [Cantu, John Carlos. "Joining art, science: Geneticist's work, on display at Robbins Gallery, explores ethics."](http://www.huntercole.org/media/annarbornews.html) *Ann Arbor News* 14 September 2002.

1. [Newvine, Colleen. "Geneticist brings art exhibit about ethical questions of science to U-M."](http://www.ur.umich.edu/0203/Sep03_02/27.html) *The University Record* (University of Michigan) 3 September 2002.

1. ["Radioactive Biohazard: Dr. Hunter O'Reilly, Ph.D. and Electric Eye Neon."](http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2001/04/20/28428.html) *AbsoluteArts.com Arts News* 20 April 2001.

1. [*Nature Biotechnology* 23.7](http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v23/n7/covers/index.html) (July 2005): cover.

1. [*Genetics in Medicine* 1.7](http://www.huntercole.org/media/gim.html) (November/December 1999): cover.

1. [*Nature Reviews Genetics* 2.9](http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v2/n9/index.html) (September 2001): cover.

1. [*Nature Reviews Genetics* 2.9](http://www.huntercole.org/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/MadonnaconClon.html) (September 2001): cover.

1. [*Nature Reviews Genetics* 2.8](http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v2/n8/index.html) (August 2001): cover.

1. [*Nature Reviews Genetics* 2.8](http://www.huntercole.org/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/uniqueclones.html) (August 2001): cover.

1. [*Nature Reviews Genetics* 2.1](http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v2/n1/index.html) (January 2001): cover.

1. [*Nature Reviews Genetics* 2.1](http://www.huntercole.org/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/dnaiseverywhere.html) (January 2001): cover.

1. *Trends in Ecology and Evolution* 16.6 (June 2001): cover.

1. [*Developmental Dynamics* 219.1](http://www.huntercole.org/artgallery/abstractionsonbiotechnology/exploring.html) (September 2000): cover.

1. [*The EMBO Journal* 18.24](http://www.nature.com/emboj/journal/v18/n24/index.html) (December 15, 1999: cover.

1. [*The EMBO Journal* 18.24](http://www.huntercole.org/media/embo3.html) (December 15, 1999): cover.

1. [*The EMBO Journal* 17.21](http://www.nature.com/emboj/journal/v17/n21/index.html) (November 2, 1998): cover.

1. [*The EMBO Journal* 17.21](http://www.huntercole.org/media/embo2.html) (November 2, 1998): cover.

1. [*The EMBO Journal* 17.15](http://www.nature.com/emboj/journal/v17/n15/index.html) (August 3, 1998): cover.

1. [*The EMBO Journal* 17.15](http://www.huntercole.org/media/embo1.html) (August 3, 1998): cover.

1. [*Neural Notes* 4.3](http://www.huntercole.org/media/neuralnotes.html) (Winter 1999): cover.

1. [Joe Davis, Dana Boyd, Hunter O’Reilly and Marek Wieczorek. "Art and Genetics."](http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/emrw/9780470015902/els/article/a0005868/current/abstract) *Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (ELS)* ed. 2006.

1. [Holden, Constance. "Yes, This Is Art."](http://www.huntercole.org/media/science.html) *Science* 26 July 2002.

1. [Cohen, Hal. "Bioscience Moves into Galleries as Bioart."](http://www.ekac.org/thescientist.2002.html) *The Scientist* 11 November 2002.

1. [Cohen, Hal. "Life posing as art."](http://www.huntercole.org/media/thescientist.html) *The Scientist* 30 September 2002.

1. Provenzano, Frank. "Biotechnology and ethics." *Detroit Free Press* 4 September 2002.

1. Sacristán, Alejandro. "Genes con arte." *Muy Interesante* March 2003. (Spain)

1. "Désirs de Clonage." *Le Monde* 28 December 2002. (France)

1. [Lavrador, Judicaël. "Bio Art: La Gènes Génération."](http://www.ekac.org/lavrador.html) *Beaux Arts magazine* November 2002. (France)

## External links

- [Hunter Cole's official website](http://www.huntercole.org)
- [Hunter Cole's Colorful and Figurative Prints](https://www.huntercoleart.com/)
- [Hunter Cole](https://twitter.com/huntercoleart) on Twitter
- [Hunter Cole on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/huntercoleart)
- [Hunter Cole on Instagram](http://www.instagram.com/huntercoleart)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hunter Cole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Cole) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Cole?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.