Stelarc and The Body as Artistic Material
Invitation to a Round Table Talk with Stelarc
Moderated by Stahl Stenslie
Sunday 21 October 2012
From 12:00 – 14:00 hrs
at Atelier Nord ANX, Olaf Ryes plass 2, entrance from Sofienberggt.
Body Art will be discussed as an experimental and performative artistic practice. A wide range of contemporary artists use the body as the principal element in their art. Stelarc is together with Marina Abramovic two of the most known artists in this much discussed field of performative art practice. Others that center on the use of the body as material range from The Vienna Action Group, Vito Acconci and Orlan to contemporary artists such as Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Kate Pendry and Symbiotica. The latter having collaborated with Stelarc and using advanced biotechnology to question and investigate the human body.
The starting point for the discussion will be Stelarc’s body suspension performance on Saturday the 20th of October and his approach, method and scripting of body art. In which ways are Stelarc’s and related art forms to be understood as art? How is the body included in the formation of his artwork? Where to draw the fine line between valuable corporal experiences and expandable bodies? What is the role of pain and fear in extreme body performances? How is the body to be included in contemporary experience designs and technologies?
The talk will further elaborate on the role of a somaesthetics (Shusterman) as a recent terminology discussing the willful neglect of the body in modern aesthetics.
Participants: Stelarc, Håvve Fjell, Andrew Morrison and Stahl Stenslie
(moderator).
Food and hot drinks will be served.