Career
His research and art includes work in the fields of molecular biology, bioinformatics, "space art", and sculpture, using media including but not limited to centrifuges, radios, prosthetics, magnetic fields, and genetic material. Davis" teaching positions have been at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Davis" work has been featured in scientific journals, art magazines, and mainstream media—including Scientific American, Nature magazine, and several books
Additionally, Davis has contributed to projects associated with the DIYbio movement.
He is frequently invited to speak at universities, labs, and art institutes. Davis" life was further detailed in a feature-length documentary entitled Heaven and Earth and Joe Davis.
Davis has had many media appearances including appearing twice on the Colbert Report. A segment was also produced on Nova.
In 2001, the Washington Post termed Davis the "éminence grise of the "bioart" movement", saying further, "Davis eschews the art versus science argument, insisting that he speaks both languages and could not possibly tear the two disciplines apart in his own mind".
Davis" work has further significance in documenting and critiquing early attempts at steganographic encoding of culturally important messages and images for future generations or extraterrestrial cultures. Davis has stated that he does not wish to create "green rabbits or purple dogs", but rather to manipulate the reams of silent, "junk deoxyribonucleic acid" that comprise more than 90% of an organism"s genetic code.
