SCIENCE MEETS ART - one man and his robot
Bionic man: Stelarc introduces his robot arm to the CCNR's Octopod
This week science and art came together at the University when the Australian performance artist Stelarc was in residence at the University's Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics. This unusual collaboration was the result of a convergence of the interest of the artist and the scientists, in exploring the boundaries between the human body and machines, which resulted from the highly successful European Conference on Artificial Life hosted at Sussex last July.
Since the late 1960s, Stelarc has been producing innovative performance art by blurring the boundaries between his body and machines - for example, by wearing a third robotic hand that is controlled by his own nerve impulses. The Sussex Artificial Life group takes its inspiration from biology to build machines which are in some way life-like, such as robots whose control system are similar to those of ants, or computer chips designed through evolution. The two perspectives came together to explore what the artist and the scientists could learn from one another.
In a lecture at Sussex yesterday, Stelarc tackled how the boundaries of the body can be altered by machines, as in the cyborg, a hybrid of human and machine. Traditionally cyborgs have been associated with science-fiction characters such as Robocop or Terminator, but Stelarc suggests that virtual reality systems and some medical technology could also be valid examples of machinery which augments the body's senses. He also discussed his use of the Internet as a tool to move people wired to robotic systems by remote control.
Stelarc concludes his week as the University's artist-in-residence with a performance at the Sallis Benney Theatre tonight. In it he will demonstrate how the third arm works, with an opportunity for volunteers to be wired to the arm to experience how their muscles can operate the machine. The performance starts at 7.30 pm at the Sallis Benney Theatre, Grand Parade, Brighton, tickets £6 (£4) on the door. The visit is supported by the Arts Council, the Sussex Artificial Life group (COGS) and the Brighton Media Centre.