Stelarc
Stelarc is an Australian performance artist who bases his work around his theories and beliefs that the human body is obsolete and in need of improvement. He is most well-known in the body modification world for his suspensions, which he had used in performance pieces in the 1970's. It was through the release of his book in 1984, Obsolete Body: Suspensions that he became an important influence on many people. Although, for many years, Stelarc was unaware of his impact.
Stelarc still performs around the world and lectures on his art and ideas, but he no longer suspends. Now, Stelarc concentrates on augmenting his body via mechanical prosthesis, controlled in various ways, through pneumatic pistons in his "Third Arm" project and the "Hexapod" or triggered by remote internet connections such as "The Ping Body."
Stelarc's latest projects include grafting a third ear onto his body (the third ear is currently being grown at the University of Western Australia) and "Disembodied Intelligence" personified by a scaled up 3D image of Stelarc's own head, projected onto a screen which a viewer can then converse with through a keyboard.
External Links
- BME Stelarc Video Interview (Transvision 2004 coverage: part 2)
- Stelarc's personal website
- Bizarre Magazine interview