Transhumanist Art
Encyclopedia
Transhumanist art is an art movement
which focuses on the concept of transhumanity, a transitional stage in a perceived progression from human
to transhuman
to posthuman
. First named in 1983 by Natasha Vita-More
, transhumanist art claimed a role for artists as purveyors of futuristic aspiration and visionary thinking in an era of scientific and technological challenge, questioning traditional roles of the artist
, the era of modern art
and conventional aesthetics
. Instead its proponents advocate a future-oriented aesthetics, often reflecting transdisciplinary works in art, science and technology.
that humans are extending themselves and their bodies through technology.
The art works of transhumanist art reflect a proactive vision of the future, stemming from both science fiction and traditional fiction.
, printmaking
, and sculpture
; in multi-media, digital
, virtual reality
simulations, Internet art
, electronic art
and robotics
; in moving images of videography
and filmmaking
; in literature
through poetry
and fiction
; in music
through real-time compositions and digitized electronic or synthesized compositions; and in conceptual art
and exploratory practices coalescing artificial intelligence
(AI), artificial general intelligence (AGI), and nanotechnology
. Other elements found in Transhumanist Art are tongue-in-cheek humor often found in science fiction
, animation
and cartoons (for example, Dresden Codak
).
Transhumanist art can include product design
, industrial design
and architecture
as well as the works of scientists, engineers and innovator
s whose goals are transhumanist in scope.
Breaking Away was exhibited at the University of Colorado's Film Studies Program. Stan Brackage, noted independent filmmaker of the 1970-1980s, was an influence on the cinematographic style of Breaking Away. The storyline of Breaking Away themes human evolution
as breaking away from biological
restraints and the Earth's gravity as humanity moves into space
. The performance art
piece was written and performed by Natasha Vita-More at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Don Yannacito, Director of Film Studies Program for independent filmmakers, filmed the performance.
In 1983 the Transhuman Manifesto, a manifesto
of arts for the future by Vita-More and FM-2030
, established a poetic doctrine of transhumanist expression.
In 1985 EZTV
, Los Angeles, featured the video 2 Women in B&W at Women In Video. In 1992, the video T - and Counting was produced featuring worlds of FM-2030, Marvin Minsky
, Carl Sagan
, Harold Cohen
, Anaïs Nin
, Susan Sontag
and other transhumanists, futurists and exemplary thinkers, was exhibited at the United States Film Festival in 1992.
By the late 1990s, transhumanist arts was seen as a new era in which the innovative, futurist ideas expressed by transhumanists and other forward-thinkers were brought together. In 1995, 301 artists and scientists signed the manifesto and Transhumanist Arts & Culture became a nexus for artistic and innovative thinkers.
Transhumanist art has been covered by numerous periodicals such as Wired, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Village Voice, LA Weekly
, the Swedish Zon Magazine, Teleopolis, and on the net at R. U. Sirius
at MondoGlobo
.
(Italy 1908) and Dadaism (France 1915). Futurism rejected traditions while glorifying contemporary life by emphasizing two dominant themes, the machine and motion and advocated the fusion of art and science. Dadaism was more a world-view rather than a style. The Dadaist manifestos were often aimed at startling the public into reconsidering accepted aesthetic values. This type of rethinking—employment of technology, science, individualism and the revoking of traditional standards—is transhumanist in scope. Although Dadaists tended to be irrational and negative and Futurism was short-lived, Transhumanist artists are rational and dynamic optimists and intend to live indefinitely.
Abstract expressionism
(1940-1950s) initiated the era of contemporary art
with a prevalent theme of self-expression. Technological works were inspired by cybernetic concepts and applied them in art with lasers, holography
, and neon art; conceptual art (1960s-1970s) became notable for emphasizing the mind over the object. The act of thinking became the artwork. With the idea of the social sculpture
, art became a model for problem solving and engagement in non-art systems. As well, performance art (1970s to present) presented an open-ended art form in which artists communicate directly with viewers, rather than through an "object".
Simultaneously, high-tech art (1970s) utilized diverse technologies with the sentiment that the more effective the high-tech art, the more it transcends its hardware. However, most tech art remains an exploration in technological art rather than a world-view. It is a part of the art and technology movement, but its more recent art expresses ambivalence of postmodernism
towards technology.
Artists
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
which focuses on the concept of transhumanity, a transitional stage in a perceived progression from human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
to transhuman
Transhuman
Transhuman or trans-human is a term that has been defined and redefined many times in history. In its contemporary usage, “transhuman” refers to an intermediary form between the human and the hypothetical posthuman.-History of hypotheses:...
to posthuman
Posthuman
Posthuman may refer to:*Posthuman, a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer human by our current standards...
. First named in 1983 by Natasha Vita-More
Natasha Vita-More
Natasha Vita-More is a transhumanist, media artist and designer, with a science background, known for designing "Primo Posthuman." This future human prototype incorporates biotechnology, robotics, information technology, nanotechnology, cognitive and neuroscience for human enhancement and extreme...
, transhumanist art claimed a role for artists as purveyors of futuristic aspiration and visionary thinking in an era of scientific and technological challenge, questioning traditional roles of the artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, the era of modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and conventional aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
. Instead its proponents advocate a future-oriented aesthetics, often reflecting transdisciplinary works in art, science and technology.
Overview
As a consequence of its philosophical foundations, transhumanist art emphasizes the message of the art works over the mediums used by artists in producing their works. In this regard, transhumanist art reflects the ideas of Marshall McLuhanMarshall McLuhan
Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist...
that humans are extending themselves and their bodies through technology.
The art works of transhumanist art reflect a proactive vision of the future, stemming from both science fiction and traditional fiction.
Characteristics and styles
Transhumanist artworks include traditional art practices such as paintingPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
, and sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
; in multi-media, digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
, virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
simulations, Internet art
Internet art
Internet art is a form of digital artwork distributed via the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work...
, electronic art
Electronic art
Electronic art is a form of art that makes use of electronic media or, more broadly, refers to technology and/or electronic media. It is related to information art, new media art, video art, digital art, interactive art, internet art, and electronic music...
and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
; in moving images of videography
Videography
Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media). The term includes methods of video production and post-production...
and filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
; in literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
through poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
; in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
through real-time compositions and digitized electronic or synthesized compositions; and in conceptual art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
and exploratory practices coalescing artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI), artificial general intelligence (AGI), and nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
. Other elements found in Transhumanist Art are tongue-in-cheek humor often found in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and cartoons (for example, Dresden Codak
Dresden Codak
Dresden Codak is a webcomic written and illustrated by Aaron Diaz. Described by Diaz as a "celebration of science, death and human folly", the comic presents stories that deal with elements of philosophy, science and technology, and/or psychology...
).
Transhumanist art can include product design
Product design
-Introduction:Product design is the process of creating a new product to be sold by a business or enterprise to its customers. It is concerned with the efficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products.Product designers conceptualize and...
, industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
as well as the works of scientists, engineers and innovator
Innovator
An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before. That often opens up a new area for others and achieves an innovation.-History:...
s whose goals are transhumanist in scope.
History
Transhumanist art was first recognized in 1979 when the 8 mm short independent filmIndependent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Breaking Away was exhibited at the University of Colorado's Film Studies Program. Stan Brackage, noted independent filmmaker of the 1970-1980s, was an influence on the cinematographic style of Breaking Away. The storyline of Breaking Away themes human evolution
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
as breaking away from biological
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
restraints and the Earth's gravity as humanity moves into space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
. The performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
piece was written and performed by Natasha Vita-More at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Don Yannacito, Director of Film Studies Program for independent filmmakers, filmed the performance.
In 1983 the Transhuman Manifesto, a manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
of arts for the future by Vita-More and FM-2030
FM-2030
FM-2030 was an author, teacher, transhumanist philosopher, futurist and consultant. FM-2030 was born Fereidoun M. Esfandiary ....
, established a poetic doctrine of transhumanist expression.
In 1985 EZTV
EZTV
EZTV is a production company and exhibition venue founded Los Angeles in 1979 by film scholar, writer and video producer John Dorr, along with several filmmakers, actors, writers, musicians and artists. EZTV is credited with creating one of the world's first video theaters, computer art gallery and...
, Los Angeles, featured the video 2 Women in B&W at Women In Video. In 1992, the video T - and Counting was produced featuring worlds of FM-2030, Marvin Minsky
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence , co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.-Biography:...
, Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, Harold Cohen
Harold Cohen (artist)
Harold Cohen is a British-born artist who is noted as the creator of AARON-External links:*...
, Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
, Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
and other transhumanists, futurists and exemplary thinkers, was exhibited at the United States Film Festival in 1992.
By the late 1990s, transhumanist arts was seen as a new era in which the innovative, futurist ideas expressed by transhumanists and other forward-thinkers were brought together. In 1995, 301 artists and scientists signed the manifesto and Transhumanist Arts & Culture became a nexus for artistic and innovative thinkers.
Transhumanist art has been covered by numerous periodicals such as Wired, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Village Voice, LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, the Swedish Zon Magazine, Teleopolis, and on the net at R. U. Sirius
R. U. Sirius
R. U. Sirius is an American writer, editor, talk show host, musician and cyberculture celebrity. He is best known as co-founder and original Editor-In-Chief of Mondo 2000 magazine from 1989–1993. Sirius was also chairman and candidate in the 2000 U.S. presidential election for The Revolution Party...
at MondoGlobo
MondoGlobo
MondoGlobo was a website and Internet network that hosts blogs, podcasts and forums. It was a community of anti-authoritarian citizens, each one with a blog....
.
Transhumanist arts trends: from 20th century art to 21st century art
The beginnings of artists engaging in either science or technology and individualism was evidenced in FuturismFuturism (art)
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane and the industrial city...
(Italy 1908) and Dadaism (France 1915). Futurism rejected traditions while glorifying contemporary life by emphasizing two dominant themes, the machine and motion and advocated the fusion of art and science. Dadaism was more a world-view rather than a style. The Dadaist manifestos were often aimed at startling the public into reconsidering accepted aesthetic values. This type of rethinking—employment of technology, science, individualism and the revoking of traditional standards—is transhumanist in scope. Although Dadaists tended to be irrational and negative and Futurism was short-lived, Transhumanist artists are rational and dynamic optimists and intend to live indefinitely.
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
(1940-1950s) initiated the era of contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
with a prevalent theme of self-expression. Technological works were inspired by cybernetic concepts and applied them in art with lasers, holography
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
, and neon art; conceptual art (1960s-1970s) became notable for emphasizing the mind over the object. The act of thinking became the artwork. With the idea of the social sculpture
Social sculpture
Social sculpture is a specific example of the extended concept of art, that was advocated by the conceptual artist and politician Joseph Beuys. Beuys created the term Social Sculpture to illustrate his idea of art's potential to transform society. As an artwork it includes human activity, that...
, art became a model for problem solving and engagement in non-art systems. As well, performance art (1970s to present) presented an open-ended art form in which artists communicate directly with viewers, rather than through an "object".
Simultaneously, high-tech art (1970s) utilized diverse technologies with the sentiment that the more effective the high-tech art, the more it transcends its hardware. However, most tech art remains an exploration in technological art rather than a world-view. It is a part of the art and technology movement, but its more recent art expresses ambivalence of postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
towards technology.
See also
- CybercultureCybercultureCyberculture is the culture that has emerged, or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment and business. It is also the study of various social phenomena associated with the Internet and other new forms of network communication, such as online communities,...
Artists
- Alfred 23 Harth
- StelarcStelarcStelarc is a Cypriot-Australian performance artist whose works focuses heavily on extending the capabilities of the human body. As such, most of his pieces are centred around his concept that the human body is obsolete...
- Fiorella TerenziFiorella TerenziFiorella Terenzi is an Italian astrophysicist, author and musician who is best known for taking recordings of radio waves from galaxies and turning them into music...
- Natasha Vita-MoreNatasha Vita-MoreNatasha Vita-More is a transhumanist, media artist and designer, with a science background, known for designing "Primo Posthuman." This future human prototype incorporates biotechnology, robotics, information technology, nanotechnology, cognitive and neuroscience for human enhancement and extreme...
External links
- Technological and Aesthetic (Trans)Formations of Society (Conference, Darmstadt 2004)
- Transhumanist Arts & Culture World Center
- Transhumanities - (incomplete) list of transhumanist art works by Anders SandbergAnders SandbergAnders Sandberg is a researcher, science debater, futurist, transhumanist, and author. He was born in Solna, Sweden. He holds a Ph.D...