Patented Pigs, 2008. Marcus Antonius Jansen (b. 1948). Oil enamel collage on canvas, 48 x 60 in. New Britain Museum of American Art, Marcus A. Jansen / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York, 2010.16.
If a work of art reflects the time it was created, what are we to make of the NBMAA’s recent acquisition, Patented Pigs by Marcus Jansen?
The painting was inspired by an article that appeared in Greenpeace Magazine titled “Monsanto Files Patent for New Invention: The Pig.” The article addresses this multinational agricultural biotecnology company’s attempt in 2004 to patent two processes designed to control the breeding of pigs with a specific marker gene.
Greenpeace and other opponents claimed Monsanto was trying to patent the breeding of all pigs. The company, on the other hand, said the patents would apply only to pigs bred using a specific process capable of locating genes which increase pig size.
New Britain Museum of American Art 