essay Flashcards
thesis
Artists create confronting artworks in order to induce thought and discussion from audiences about significant issues of the world. Artists such as Stelarc and Orlan produce artworks of controversy which shock the audience in order to bring attention to issues they wish to explore through their artworks.
stelarc general
Stelarc uses performances such as Street Suspension (1984) and Ear on Arm (2006) to communicate his scientific ideas of modifying and exploring the intricacies of the human body, developing his own body to achieve his dreams of becoming a ‘cyborg’.
orlan general
Orlan created performance works and paintings to describe her views on cosmetic surgery and present her support for feminism, namely Strip-tease occasionel à l’aide des draps du trousseau (1977) and The Reincarnation of St Orlan (1990-1993). Thus, through the controversy that arises from these artworks, Stelarc and Orlan are able to explore their ideas on issues regarding the body, respectively biologically and sexually.
street suspension (1984)
In his performance Street Suspension, Stelarc punctures his skin with metal hooks and suspends his naked body using those steel hooks which are connected to a pulley structure on a cable stretched between two buildings. Emerging from a fourth floor window, Stelarc was pulled to the centre of the street. He was suspended for twelve minutes before he was pulled back into the building.
street suspension (1984) concept
His performance works began with the idea of enhancing the body both in a physical and technical manner pursuing his desire to defeat the force of gravity through primitive rituals of low technology.
street suspension - stelarc quotes
“the body lacks of modular design,” (Stelarc, 1991)
“Technology is what defines the meaning of being human, it’s part of being human” says Stelarc (Wilson, 159).
Especially living in the modern information age, “the body is biologically inadequate” (Stelarc, 2017).
street suspension response
The performance astounds audiences and provides a sense of wonder and hope for the progression of science and the breaking of physical boundaries as stated by Robert Nelson in 2012, “Apart from the bracing clinical technique of the performances, the Suspensions have created an original and monumental image of the body in defiance of gravity.”
street suspension (1984) topic sentence
Stelarc deviates from traditional forms of painting and sculpture and shifts towards performance art to portray his interests in human biology and the connections that can be made between advancing technology and the human body.
Ear on arm (2006) topic sentence
Characterised by a similar concept, Stelarc’s project Ear on Arm provides controversy through the artist’s desire to explore a futuristic world where humans are able to connect with each other’s senses and movements through technology.
ear on arm (2006)
Stelarc approached the Australian-based Tissue Culture and Art project to help permanently grow an ear on his arm, beginning the procedure by growing the ear in a laboratory using samples of Stelarc’s cartilage and bone marrow before having surgeons attach it to his body. The ear was sculpted to shape by plastic surgeons who used skin grafts to craft lobes and shape the flesh on Stelarc’s arm to create the shape of an ear.
ear on arm (2006) concept
The project Ear on Arm presents an alternate anatomical architecture that is available, accessible and mobile for other individuals around the world to listen to the internal sounds of his bodily functions.
ear on arm (2006) response
Although, Stelarc realises that his audience often fails to receive the specific goal of his creations but he is able to provoke reactions of his audience as he states in an interview with the ABC, “people’s reactions range from bemusement to bewilderment to curiosity, but you don’t really expect people to understand the art component of all of this.”
David Lee’s statement in which he believes Stelarc’s projects lack artistic elements, “He [Stelarc] is not exploring anything artistic at all. He’s just putting an ear on his arm… This is not art.”
However, there are positive responses to his art, in which William Gibson views Stelarc’s art as a personal pursuit derived from his passion towards technology, describing it as “moments of the purest technologically induced cognitive disjunction.”
le baiser de l’artiste (1977)
