One of a kind

In Consumed: DNA portraits: How one company tapped the desire for really, really personalized consumption.

In his 1983 book “Class,” Paul Fussell observed that “there’s hardly anything you get from a catalog that can’t be personalized,” including napkin rings and car mats, or “a stoneware pie dish reading, ‘Pies by Karen’ (any name available).” Fussell had merciless fun scrutinizing “the pathos of these constant assertions of selfhood.” Of course, the technologies of personalization have become much more complex since then, and unique-as-you objects are widely seen as markers of sophistication these days. And at a time when the singularity bandwagon is stacked high with customized sneakers and pimped-out laptop cases, a company called DNA 11 has found a way to stand out: It will turn a sample of your DNA into a piece of abstract art. “Each piece is as unique as you,” its Web site promises. “Absolutely one-of-a-kind.” …

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Additional link: DNA 11.