Stelarc (born
Stelios Arcadiou on June 19, 1946 in
LimassolLimassol or Lemesos is the second-largest city on Cyprus, with a population of 176,900 , the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island...
,
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
, to Greek Cypriot parents) is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
performance artPerformance art is art in which the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work. It can happen anywhere, at any time, or for any length of time. Performance art can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the...
ist whose works focus heavily on
futurismFuturism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It was largely an Italian phenomenon, though there were parallel movements in Russia, England and elsewhere...
and extending the capabilities of the human body. As such, most of his pieces are centered around his concept that
the human body is obsolete. Until 2007 he held the position of Principal Research Fellow in the Performance Arts Digital Research Unit at
Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham Trent University is a university in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843. It was founded as Trent Polytechnic in 1970 before gaining university status in 1992...
in
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England and is one of only eight members of the English Core Cities Group....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He is currently a visiting Professor in the School of Arts at
Brunel UniversityBrunel University is a higher education institution situated in West London, England. In the latest Government Research Assessment Exercise, 82% of research submitted was rated as of international standing...
, West London. He has two daughters, one of whom (Astra Stelarc) has continued in his footsteps as an artist.
Performances
Stelarc's idiosyncratic performances often involve
roboticsRobotics is the engineering science and technology of robots, and their design, manufacture, and application. Robotics is related to electronics, mechanics, and software. The word robot was introduced to the public by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. , published in 1920...
or other relatively modern technology integrated with his body somehow. In 25 different performances he has hung 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 center 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.
Works
In 2005,
MIT PressThe MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
published
Stelarc: The Monograph which is the first extensive study of Stelarc's prolific work. It includes images of performances and interviews with several writers including
William GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:*William Gibson , English Catholic martyr...
, who recount their meetings with Stelarc.
Awards and honors
- In 1995 Stelarc was awarded a three year fellowship from the Australia Council for the Arts.
- In 1997 Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since its inception, Carnegie Mellon has grown into a world-renowned institution, with numerous programs that are frequently ranked among the best in the world...
appointed him Honorary Professor of Art and Robotics.
- In 1998 he was artist-in-residence for the city of Hamburg
Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
- In 2000 Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Australia. It is Australia's largest university with about 55,000 students.The University has a total of eight campuses: six in Victoria, Australia , one in Malaysia and one in South Africa...
awarded him an Honorary Degree of Laws.
- In March, 2003, at Ohio State University
Ohio State University is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the largest single-campus university in the United States. Ohio State is currently ranked by U.S...
, he completed an artist-in-residence program.
External links
Texts by Stelarc