Posthumanist art
Posthumanist art names work that can only be made in part through digital technology, where the human hand is joined - or replaced - by the machine. It may be human-conceived or machine-produced in whole or in part; what varies is how far the person directs the process, from manipulating the technology directly to writing the algorithm that makes the image. The term grows out of posthumanist thought, which decentres the human as the measure of all things; N. Katherine Hayles's How We Became Posthuman (1999) is a seminal foundation for it. Practitioners put the critique to work in robotics, transgenic biology, surgery, and networked performance: Stelarc rigs extra limbs onto his body, Eduardo Kac creates transgenic organisms, and Orlan remakes her own flesh as "carnal art".
Defining characteristics
- Machine participation: algorithms, robotics, or biotechnology generate part of the image or object
- The human body treated as material to extend, remodel, or replace - prosthetics, surgery, transgenics
- Organic and synthetic forms deliberately blurred
- Lab protocols, telemetry, and interfaces displayed as part of the work
- Interactive or networked pieces completed by viewers or remote participants
Key figures
- Stelarc (1946-) — Performance artist who augments the body with machines, declaring it obsolete
- Eduardo Kac (1962-) — Pioneer of transgenic and telepresence bioart (GFP Bunny)
- Orlan (1947-) — French artist whose surgical "carnal art" remakes the body
- N. Katherine Hayles (1943-) — Theorist whose How We Became Posthuman (1999) framed the field
Example works
- GFP Bunny — Eduardo Kac (2000)
- The Reincarnation of Saint Orlan — Orlan (1990-1995)
Sources
- Posthumanist art - Wikipedia encyclopedia