Joe Davis is not like most artists. Instead of using a paintbrush, he has been known to use a microscope that can “hear” living cells.

For most artists this would be unheard-of, but for Joe Davis, who will speak at the Wexner Center today, this is the basis for his artwork.

Davis, a research affiliate in the Department of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is widely acknowledged as a pioneer of incorporating science and art.

“Davis is the first person to use biological organisms as an artistic medium,” said Ken Rinaldo, assistant professor of art technology at Ohio State. “He has come up with new ways of creating art without the use of traditional artistic media.”

Davis’ research is extensive and mind-boggling, which is apparent in his recent works. One experiment focused on E. coli’s response to vibrations of jazz music and other sounds. In another recent experiment, Davis developed an audio microscope, which translates light information into sound and allows a person to hear living cells, each with its own “acoustic signature.” He also developed a space shuttle experiment that would have shot a 100,000-watt electron gun into the magnetosphere to create the first artificial aurora.

Davis said his collection is probably one of the strangest art collections on earth, yet it provides him with insight into life itself.

He created an “infogene,” which incorporates information about human intelligence into a genome of bacteria that can be sent and decoded by its receiver. Davis originally intended the receiver to be extraterrestrial beings. The real message of this seemingly complex concept was to show the public that DNA can encode any information, not just genetic sequences.

Rinaldo said there is no distinction between art and science.

“There is no line,” Rinaldo said. “The distinction between art and science is culturally defined.”

In an interview with Scientific American, Davis said, “I stopped worrying a long time ago whether what I do is art or science; otherwise I’d rip my brain apart.”

The manner in which Davis creates art is not necessarily a new concept, but it still remains innovative and extraordinary.

During an interview on ABC’s “Nightline,” interviewer Robert Krulwich said, in regards to Davis’ work, “I guarantee you that you have never seen anything like this before.”

Before becoming a research affiliate, Davis taught the graduate architecture program at MIT and also taught undergraduate painting and mixed media at the Rhode Island School of Design. His work has been exhibited in the United States, Canada and Austria.

Davis will speak at the Wexner Center Film and Video Theater at 4:30 p.m. today. Admission is free.