Technologised Bodies

Which artist’s work do you find the most interesting?

I think Stelarc’s work in the most interesting.

Stelarc,(Stelios Arkadiou) is a Greek-Australian performance artist whose works focuses on extending the capabilities of human body.
Stelarc's idiosyncratic performances often involve robotics or other relatively modern technology integrated with his body somehow. In 25 different performances he has suspended himself in flesh hook suspension, often with one of his robotic inventions integrated. In another performance he allowed his body to be controlled remotely by electronic muscle stimulators connected to the internet. He has also performed with a robotic third arm, and a pneumatic spider-like six-legged walking machine which sits the user in the centre of the legs and allows them to control the machine through arm gestures. His works have been heralded for their abilities to embrace a wider audience, the best example of this was his allowance for the worldwide audience to log into the exhibition and thus access or control the electrodes his own body was hooked up to.

Why I think this work is most interested?

The man with three hears

Stelarc's work change the traditional concept of human bodies. As we may think our body may only replace by prosthetics arms or legs. Now we can replace them by wires, wheels or other materials. It encourages medicine improvements of human bodies and gives new approach for us to think of what is human body.

In the first sight to the documentary video of Stelare's work, it is only a kind of "shocking oriented" work. Indeed, it is really awful that the body become distorted in an unnatural way,
esp, he implanted a third ear into his arm, what is the big mean to do such thing?

However, after watched the video and having a deep thought, I understanding Stelare's motivation, he is reacting and inventing.
In his work we can have a reflection that how is technologies used, if human still have their free will?

I think his works are creative and thoughtful.
(Though they are awful and a bit not humane)

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelarc