He is both an artist and a phenomenon, using his body as medium and exhibition space. It is with great pride and joy that we can now announce that ps media will publish stelarc s new book. Im writing today to implore all of you to go and support a new crowdfunding campaign to get a sequel to stelarc s fantastic obsolute body. The prosthetic experience between body and technology. Stelarcs stretched skin infinite body piercing, inc. Jane goodall looks at the installations in terms of their portrayal of the organic and the possible evolutions of technology. This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. Transmediale09 australian bionic performance artist stelarc s first second life performance the body is obsolete. He has acoustically and visually probed the bodyhaving amplified brainwaves, bloodflow and muscle signals and filmed the inside of his lungs, stomach and colon, approximately two.
Working in the interface between the body and the machine, employing virtual reality, robotics, medical instruments, prosthetics, and the internet, stelarc s art includes physical acts that dont always look. Screener for stelarc the body is obsolete distributed online worldwide by contemporary arts media. Jul 26, 2015 for stelarc, the obsolete human body is not one that becomes disembodied. Obsolete, uncertain and indifferent body, focuses on the entire history of stelarc s suspension performances, from his first performance in 1976 to his most recent collaborations. His investigation of what he terms the obsolete body began while he was studying painting in melbourne, when he constructed a helmet that distorted normal vision. Nov 10, 2017 the body is empty, absent to its own agency and obsolete. As such, most of his pieces are centered on his concept that the human body is obsolete. Jun 04, 2018 his first book obsolete body was published in 1984 as a compilation of stelarcs suspension performances, it is now a very rare and expensive book to come by. He has used medical instruments, prosthetics, robotics, virtual reality systems, the internet and biotechnology to explore alternate, intimate and involuntary interfaces. It is with great pride and joy that we can now announce that ps media will publish stelarcs new book.
Stelarcs artworks and the reclaiming of the obsolete body susanne hildegard van zyl a thesis submitted to the faculty of arts, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts by coursework and research report johannesburg, 2008. Initially stelarc focused on the skin as a support organ through suspension with inserted hooks. But he seems rather excited about the possibility than scared of it. From implanting a third ear on his arm to connecting his senses to the internet, stelarc is an artist known for extreme performances that take the human body to the limit and blur the lines between technology and ourselves. It is a complete overview of my suspension performances, with exceptional images, excellent contributions by theorists and texts by the artist. In 1995 stelarc received a three year fellowship from the visual arts craft board, the australia council. In addition to texts by the artist, it include articles some previously printed, others newly commissioned about stelarc and his work by writers including darren. His work has inspired and awed people the world over, and given many a new perspectives on what the. But obsolete body, while the source of many peoples inspiration, does not tell the whole story or contain a complete record of stelarcs suspension performances. Suspensions is a now rare and out of print book documenting the australian performance artist stelarcs suspensions of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Born stelios arcadiou in cyprus, stelarc came to australia as a child in 1950. Being able to film this made me realise the potential of virtual worlds. Stelarcs performance about the body beeing obsolete inspired me to film as if the avatar is obsolete. Suspensions documented his suspensions of the late 70s and early 80s. He is most wellknown in the body modification world for his suspensions, which he had used in performance pieces in the 1970s. Jan 10, 20 stelarc the body is obsolete contemporary arts media duration. Interestingly, stelarc was apparently unaware of his impact on the body modification community for many years.
He instead suggests that humans as a species have created a new technological environment in which we cannot operate effectively as living organisms. Ear on arm is an ongoing endeavor by the artist stelarc, whose eccentric performances put his squishy body in the indifferent grip of technology. The human body is obsolete the performance artist stelarc experiments on his own body using physical, visual and acoustic means, including a third ear and an external skeleton. Working in the interface between the body and the machine, employing. Stelarc is the most celebrated artist in the world working within technology and the visual arts. George cowan, president of the santa fe institute, describes the new science of complexity. As much as fakir expressed dismay at stelarcs refusal to embrace the spiritual application of suspension, stelarc had. It will have a sound feedback loop from the body giving the virtual entity an ear in the world. Originally released in january of 1984 as both a hard and soft cover, it is a beautifully presented book with essays on both the author and his work and large black and white photo. Stelarc is chair in performance art, school of arts, brunel university west london, uk and senior research fellow and visiting artist in the marcs labs at the university of western sydney, australia.
For over 40 years he has been pushing the physical, conceptual, and technological boundaries of the human body. While groundbreaking, obsolete body was not a complete record of stelarcs suspension performances. Suspensions, a book of writing and photos on flesh hook suspension, using the body as a sculptural installation in various art spaces and public spaces as well. Stelarcs first book, obsolete body was published in 1984 as a compilation of his performance art and suspension performances. While long out of print, this book has had a lasting influence on. The human body is obsolete seminar seminar with stelarc and henk oosterling at the erasmus university.
Sep 14, 2012 the realization in fact was that the body was profoundly obsolete, inadequate, empty, often absent to its own agency and generally performs habitually and involuntarily. His first book obsolete body was published in 1984 as a compilation of stelarcs suspension performances, it is now a very rare and expensive book to come by. Plan your visit plan your visit practical information for visitors. We wanted to start by asking you how you felt your work stood in relation to that. This machinima did win the audience award in paris, november 2009, at the atopic festival. Spinningbreathing at the oslo suspension symposium in. Embracing ever evolving technology, stelarc provokes the art world with a series of works that he claims demonstrate the body as limited and obsolete.
The body is obsolete stelarc performance chantal harvey. Most of these performances occurred in private gallery spaces or remote. Ps media are presently publishing a book titled stretched skin obsolete, uncertain and indifferent body. Obsolete, uncertain and indifferent body, by stelarc is a beautifully bound book with 200 pages containing stunning images from various photographers and informative texts about stelarc s suspension performances. This book brings together a colloquy of technowarriors who probe the limits. Lecture stelarc and biodesign curator william myers stelarc. The artist does not however suggest that the body is obsolete in the sense that it can be discarded entirely. The realization in fact was that the body was profoundly obsolete, inadequate, empty, often absent to its own agency and generally performs habitually and involuntarily. Stelarc the body is obsolete contemporary arts media.
Instead, it is this particular bodythe one youre sitting in, with its specific form and its limited functionsthat has become inadequate in a technological terrain of fast, precise, and powerful machinery. Documents the performance history of artist stelarc, from his body suspension to. In a time of circulating flesh, fractal flesh and phantom flesh organs are extracted and exchanged, bodies and bits of bodies remotely generate recurring patterns of interactivity and haptic technologies generate potent physical presences of virtual flesh. It was through the release of his book in 1984, obsolete body. A users guide to stelarc, the international performance artist whose extreme performances explore the borderland between bodies and machines.
In a very real sense the body is always already obsolete, has been obsolete an infinity of times and will be obsolete countless more as many times as there are adaptations and inventions alternate interfaces, 31. Aug, 2004 a few years earlier 1984 stelarc had released obsolete body. The cyborg experiments analyzes the challenges posed to corporeality by techology. Street suspension, 1984, by stelarc the collection. Stelarc is a performance, installation and new media artist who has performed and exhibited in japan, europe and the united states. Lecture stelarc and biodesign curator william myers. Stelarc s work both reflects and determines new directions in performance art and body art. Taking as their starting point the work of the highly influential performance artists orlan and stelarc, the essays in this timely and important collection raise a number of questions in relation to new conceptions of embodiment, identity and otherness in the age of new technologies. The monograph is the first comprehensive study of stelarc s work practice in over thirty years. There have been a lot of scare stories recently concerning developments in technology.
Artist stelarc describes his recent art work, which includes the use of a prosthetic third hand and devices connected directly to electrical signals in the human body. I had tried in vain to contact him first in japan and later in australia. The dvd features an interview with stelarc as well as descriptions and images of all his major artworks. The transspecies, the transgendered and even the transhuman proliferate. He draws a distinction between darwinian evolution, where obsolescence can mean extinction. You see, i had long been a rabid stelarc fan since i first saw his 1985 book obsolete body suspensions. Sep 28, 2007 stelarc s projects include third hand, a grasping and wrist rotating mechanism with a rudimentary sense of touch that is attached to the artist and activated by emg from other body areas. Working in the interface between the body and the machine, he employs virtual reality, robotics, medical instruments, prosthetics, the internet, and biotechnology. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Amplified body, in which the artist performs acoustically with his brainwaves, muscles, pulse, and blood flow signals. And movatar is an intelligent avatar that performs in the real world by possessing a physical body. This book promises to include more information on stelarcs early work, and then build on that with his body suspension experiments since then. A virtual art performance in second life, by rl performing artist stelarc.
Between 19761988 he completed 25 body suspension performances with hooks into his skin. Although stelarc has ceased suspending himself, he collaborated on two suspension projects with havve fjell and wings of desire. He has used medical instruments, prosthetics, robotics, virtual reality systems and the internet to explore alternate, intimate and involuntary interfaces with the body. While groundbreaking, obsolete body was not a complete record of stelarcs suspension. The artist, born stelios arcadiou in the island of. In 1997 he was appointed honorary professor of art and robotics at carnegie mellon. Stretched skin will focus on stelarcs suspension performancesfrom the very first in 1976 to the most recent in in 2012, including the collaborations with havve fjell and wings.
For stelarc, the obsolete human body is not one that becomes disembodied. Artists and culture producers now not only work with the visual, but also the biological, and the mechanical, effectively exploring the obsolescence of the corporeal body. Check the agenda check the agenda an overview of all activities and exhibitions. Datasets available include lcsh, bibframe, lc name authorities, lc classification, marc codes, premis vocabularies, iso language codes, and more. Stelarc is an australian artist who has performed extensively in japan, europe and the usa including new music, dance festivals and experimental theatre. May 04, 2009 the body is obsolete stelarc performance chantal harvey. Using medical instruments, prosthetics, robotics, virtual reality systems, the internet and biotechnology, stelarc explores alternate, intimate and involuntary interfaces with the body. In the second, redesigning the body obsolete bodies stelarc offered his physical presence for a workshop at the gam in gallarate and the virtual presence for avatars have no organs, a performance of about 15 minutes exhibited in the gallery the virtual stelarc initiatives in second life, show the versatility of his research in relation to the. This is a collection of fourteen photographically illustrated, selfpublished postcards documenting noted cypriotborn, australianbased artist stelarc s public performances primarily in japan and australia between 1976 and 1981. He strongly believes in the posthumanism philosophy which can be defined as humans and technology becoming so intertwined that there will be a push towards function and not form. I was even more thrilled that he was able to make a video interview, and further, that stelarc remembered our televised festival atlantico confrontation in 1997. If successful, stelarc will have his third ear directly connected to the internet meaning his body can technically be hacked. When stelarc speaks of the obsolete body he means that the body must overcome centuries of prejudices and begin to be considered as an extendible evolutionary structure enhanced with the most disparate technologies, which are more precise, accurate and powerful.
Stelarc is a performance artist who has visually probed and acoustically amplified his body. Im writing today to implore all of you to go and support a new crowdfunding campaign to get a sequel to stelarcs fantastic obsolute body. He has used medical instruments, prosthetics, robotics, virtual reality systems, the internet and biotechnology to explore alternate, intimate and involuntary. While long out of print, this book has had a lasting influence on a generation of suspension artists and performers. The human body is obsolete a presentation by australian artist stelarc. Professor stelarc is an australian performance artist known for going to extremes, from aggressive voluntary surgeries and robotic third arms to fleshhook suspensions and prosthetics. The linked data service provides access to commonly found standards and vocabularies promulgated by the library of congress. Stelios arcadiou in limassol in 1946, but legally changed his name in 1972 is a cyprusborn performance artist raised in the melbourne suburb of sunshine, whose works focus heavily on extending the capabilities of the human body. Aleks danko, graeme davis, bonita ely, dale frank, joan grounds, lyndal jones, jill orr, mike parr, jill scott, stelarc, ken unsworth by canberra school of art gallery book. Obsolete bodysuspensionsstelarc by various photographers and. While tremendously influential, its now very rare and expensive and much sought after by body modification enthusiasts. Stelarcs famous art performance about the absolete body, performed in virtual reality, with a custom. Originally released in january of 1984 as both a hard and soft cover, it is a beautifully presented book with essays on both the author and his work and large black and white photographs.
Bodies are hacked, genes are mapped, prosthetics are attached and chimeras are engineered in labs. Stelarc the body is obsolete contemporary arts media duration. Stelarc, the performance artist, has since the middle of the twentieth century, harnessed technology to enable an ongoing challenge to the physical body. Event for wind and waves, jogashima, miura, 1981 the body was suspended sideon from a wooden structure on an outcrop of rocks parallel to the horizon, looking out to sea near the shore as the tide was coming in and the weather was overcast with the blustery wind swaying the body back and forth and the waves crashing against the rocks, swaying and splashing it. Stelarc s radical experiments with alternate human forms by anna denejkina since the 70s, transhumanist artist stelarc has used himself as an experimental canvas for. Corporeal obsolescence is in itself a contentious idea. Australianborn artist, stelarc, constantly attempts to redefine the body through his works of art. The artist gave a public lecture on his work, followed by a seminar. Stelarcs work deals heavily with the obsolete body. On the inside of his left arm, stelarc is in the process of growing a third ear a left one to be more precise. The performance was intentional dusturbed by the second front, an art group in sl on invitation. After its publication, stelarc continued and expanded his.
Although there have been hundreds of articles written about stelarc since he began performing in the late 1960s, stelarc. A selective bibliography compiled by aileen smith, december 2005 this bibliography consists of a selective list of books and articles relating to stelarc. Those books held within the aa library are indicated with a shelfmark. Stelarc s first book, obsolete body was published in 1984 as a compilation of his performance art and suspension performances.