Stelarc is a performance artist from Cyprus who is known for pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the human body. He has conducted numerous performances involving body suspension and modifications. His latest project involved growing an ear on his arm, which took over a decade to complete. The ear is now a permanent part of his body, and he aims to connect it to the internet via a microphone so others can listen through a website. This would allow people to literally listen through his ear wherever he and the ear happen to be located. The project aims to further explore new interfaces between technology and the human body.
Sample Engineering Scholarship Essay | Templates at .... Engineering science essay 2014 (njabulo). Case Study – Software Engineering Essay Example | StudyHippo.com. School essay: Essay about engineering. 022 Mechanical Engineering Scholarship Essay Example Education And ....
HW-3 Tomorrow’s World CE 1120 Introduction to Engineering.docxadampcarr67227
HW-3 Tomorrow’s World
CE 1120 Introduction to Engineering
HW-3: Future of Engineering/Tomorrow’s World
Write one-page summary on: Tomorrow’s World
Sources
BBC Horizon Special - Tomorrow's World (2013) (Space, Nanotechnology, Energy, Environment]
http://vimeo.com/95063478
58:34 min
http://vimeo.com/95063478
Save paper and follow @newyorker on Twitter
Books
AUGUST 3, 2015 ISSUE
I Can’t Go On!
What’s behind stagefright?
BY JOAN ACOCELLA
S
The key thought accompanying the physical response
seems to be a feeling of exposure.
ILLUSTRATION BY NISHANT CHOKSI
ara Solovitch, in “Playing Scared: A History
and Memoir of Stage Fright” (Bloomsbury),
says that while she was a good pianist as a child, she
fell apart—sweating, trembling—when she had to
play for an audience. She got through the Eastman
School of Music’s preparatory program. Then she
quit studying piano, grew up, got married, had
children, and became a journalist. In her late forties,
though, she drifted back to the piano, taking a course
at a community college. By this point, she had no
professional ambitions. Surely, she thought, she
would now be able to perform calmly. But when her teacher asked her, one night, to play
in front of the class, her hands began shaking so hard that she could barely strike the
keyboard: “I gazed down at myself from a distance high above the keys, watching a body
that was no longer in charge. My fear was at the controls, like an independent organism
emerging from inside me, my own Rosemary’s baby.”
Stagefright has not been heavily studied, which is strange because, as Solovitch tells us, it
is common not only among those who make their living on the stage but among the rest
of us, too. In 2012, two researchers at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Karen Dwyer
and Marlina Davidson, administered a survey to eight hundred and fifteen college
students, asking them to select their three greatest fears from a list that included, among
other things, heights, flying, financial problems, deep water, death, and “speaking before a
group.” Speaking before a group beat out all the others, even death.
Stagefright has been aptly described as “self-poisoning by adrenaline.” In response to
stress, the adrenal glands pump the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) into the
bloodstream, causing the body to shift into a state of high arousal. The person’s muscles
tense, he sweats and shakes, his heart pounds, his mouth goes dry, he has trouble
breathing, he may become nauseated or dizzy, and his throat constricts, making his voice
rise in pitch. This is the so-called “fight or flight” response, which our species is thought
to have developed because it helped prepare the body for forceful action in response to a
threat. But what Cro-Magnon man needed upon finding a bear in his cave is not what a
modern person needs in order to play King Lear. Without the release of abrupt action,
the hyperactivation becomes, basically.
Sample Engineering Scholarship Essay | Templates at .... Engineering science essay 2014 (njabulo). Case Study – Software Engineering Essay Example | StudyHippo.com. School essay: Essay about engineering. 022 Mechanical Engineering Scholarship Essay Example Education And ....
HW-3 Tomorrow’s World CE 1120 Introduction to Engineering.docxadampcarr67227
HW-3 Tomorrow’s World
CE 1120 Introduction to Engineering
HW-3: Future of Engineering/Tomorrow’s World
Write one-page summary on: Tomorrow’s World
Sources
BBC Horizon Special - Tomorrow's World (2013) (Space, Nanotechnology, Energy, Environment]
http://vimeo.com/95063478
58:34 min
http://vimeo.com/95063478
Save paper and follow @newyorker on Twitter
Books
AUGUST 3, 2015 ISSUE
I Can’t Go On!
What’s behind stagefright?
BY JOAN ACOCELLA
S
The key thought accompanying the physical response
seems to be a feeling of exposure.
ILLUSTRATION BY NISHANT CHOKSI
ara Solovitch, in “Playing Scared: A History
and Memoir of Stage Fright” (Bloomsbury),
says that while she was a good pianist as a child, she
fell apart—sweating, trembling—when she had to
play for an audience. She got through the Eastman
School of Music’s preparatory program. Then she
quit studying piano, grew up, got married, had
children, and became a journalist. In her late forties,
though, she drifted back to the piano, taking a course
at a community college. By this point, she had no
professional ambitions. Surely, she thought, she
would now be able to perform calmly. But when her teacher asked her, one night, to play
in front of the class, her hands began shaking so hard that she could barely strike the
keyboard: “I gazed down at myself from a distance high above the keys, watching a body
that was no longer in charge. My fear was at the controls, like an independent organism
emerging from inside me, my own Rosemary’s baby.”
Stagefright has not been heavily studied, which is strange because, as Solovitch tells us, it
is common not only among those who make their living on the stage but among the rest
of us, too. In 2012, two researchers at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Karen Dwyer
and Marlina Davidson, administered a survey to eight hundred and fifteen college
students, asking them to select their three greatest fears from a list that included, among
other things, heights, flying, financial problems, deep water, death, and “speaking before a
group.” Speaking before a group beat out all the others, even death.
Stagefright has been aptly described as “self-poisoning by adrenaline.” In response to
stress, the adrenal glands pump the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) into the
bloodstream, causing the body to shift into a state of high arousal. The person’s muscles
tense, he sweats and shakes, his heart pounds, his mouth goes dry, he has trouble
breathing, he may become nauseated or dizzy, and his throat constricts, making his voice
rise in pitch. This is the so-called “fight or flight” response, which our species is thought
to have developed because it helped prepare the body for forceful action in response to a
threat. But what Cro-Magnon man needed upon finding a bear in his cave is not what a
modern person needs in order to play King Lear. Without the release of abrupt action,
the hyperactivation becomes, basically.
Fighting in Las Vegas, I thought the fight on the ground was .docxmydrynan
Fighting in Las Vegas, I thought the fight on the ground was
boring. Gradually it revealed itself to me in all its subtle urgency.
One night, I realized that, like Glengarry Glen Ross, the fight on the
ground is the true metaphor of how we live today. Down at the
office, the university, or the plant, we rarely have the opportunity
to stand up and punch it out. On the job, in the bureaucracy,
we grapple forever on the ground, seeking tiny advantages, bits
ofleverage, and the occasional clean shot. Herein lies the true
satisfaction of the standing knockout.
So why fight this kind offight now? I attribute it to the
enormous tectonic forces alive in America today, where we have
never been so safe and in so much peril. We live in a filigree of
perfectly interconnected safety nets with helmet laws, seat belts,
infant seating, low cholesterol, no-smoking signs, playdates, cell
phones, and e-mail. All this coddles people trying to work on the
precipice of absolute disaster. One merger, one outsourced job,
one bad decision, one deceptive mortgage, one religious idiot,
one accident, one gun nut or illness, and we are falling forever,
and we can't even scream lest we disturb the peace. So you
ask: Why fight? I say, Why not? Don't we need a little space, an
octagon, perhaps, where no self-serving lies need be spoken,
where we know exactly what's going down?
1 Sam Sheridan, A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey through th e World
o/Fighting, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, NY, 2007.
82 FIRST WE FIGHT
Formalism
SAW my first Chinese opera in the early 1970s, in
Manhattan, on a whim, because a Blue Oyster Cult
concert had been canceled. I loved the whole thing. l[t
The performers were beautiful. The makeup was
beautiful. The costumes made Liberace look like Dick Cheney,
and the music sounded like Blue Oyster Cult falling down stairs.
I didn't understand anything, but I walked out ofthe theater very
excited. I told my companion that ifI saw four more Chinese
operas, knowing nothing more than I did then, I could tell which
was the best one, once I identified the parts. Four was optimistic.
There are 360 regional forms ofChinese opera, according to
one playbill I read, and they can only be understood against the
backdrop ofChinese history, so, in my case, it took six or seven.
I saw my last Chinese opera in April 2006 at La MaMa down on
4th Street, The Dragon-Princess and the Scholar.
I still knew nothing beyond my experience ofseeing six or
seven performances, but even so, in 2006, I could feel the shape of
the piece, the logic of the spectacle. I recognized infelicities and
corners cut. I reveled in bravura moments and exquisite details,
and, most critically, I felt in tune with the predominantly Asian
audience, most ofwhom, I suspected, were hardcore New Yorkers
no more erudite about the 360 forms than I. This was important
83
to me because, during the period ...
Fighting in Las Vegas, I thought the fight on the ground was .docxmydrynan
Fighting in Las Vegas, I thought the fight on the ground was
boring. Gradually it revealed itself to me in all its subtle urgency.
One night, I realized that, like Glengarry Glen Ross, the fight on the
ground is the true metaphor of how we live today. Down at the
office, the university, or the plant, we rarely have the opportunity
to stand up and punch it out. On the job, in the bureaucracy,
we grapple forever on the ground, seeking tiny advantages, bits
ofleverage, and the occasional clean shot. Herein lies the true
satisfaction of the standing knockout.
So why fight this kind offight now? I attribute it to the
enormous tectonic forces alive in America today, where we have
never been so safe and in so much peril. We live in a filigree of
perfectly interconnected safety nets with helmet laws, seat belts,
infant seating, low cholesterol, no-smoking signs, playdates, cell
phones, and e-mail. All this coddles people trying to work on the
precipice of absolute disaster. One merger, one outsourced job,
one bad decision, one deceptive mortgage, one religious idiot,
one accident, one gun nut or illness, and we are falling forever,
and we can't even scream lest we disturb the peace. So you
ask: Why fight? I say, Why not? Don't we need a little space, an
octagon, perhaps, where no self-serving lies need be spoken,
where we know exactly what's going down?
1 Sam Sheridan, A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey through th e World
o/Fighting, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, NY, 2007.
82 FIRST WE FIGHT
Formalism
SAW my first Chinese opera in the early 1970s, in
Manhattan, on a whim, because a Blue Oyster Cult
concert had been canceled. I loved the whole thing. l[t
The performers were beautiful. The makeup was
beautiful. The costumes made Liberace look like Dick Cheney,
and the music sounded like Blue Oyster Cult falling down stairs.
I didn't understand anything, but I walked out ofthe theater very
excited. I told my companion that ifI saw four more Chinese
operas, knowing nothing more than I did then, I could tell which
was the best one, once I identified the parts. Four was optimistic.
There are 360 regional forms ofChinese opera, according to
one playbill I read, and they can only be understood against the
backdrop ofChinese history, so, in my case, it took six or seven.
I saw my last Chinese opera in April 2006 at La MaMa down on
4th Street, The Dragon-Princess and the Scholar.
I still knew nothing beyond my experience ofseeing six or
seven performances, but even so, in 2006, I could feel the shape of
the piece, the logic of the spectacle. I recognized infelicities and
corners cut. I reveled in bravura moments and exquisite details,
and, most critically, I felt in tune with the predominantly Asian
audience, most ofwhom, I suspected, were hardcore New Yorkers
no more erudite about the 360 forms than I. This was important
83
to me because, during the period ...
1. Have you heard about this?
Russell Grenning
A little quiz –whatdo the 19th
centuryDutchpainterVincentvanGoghand Perthacademic
ProfessorStelarchave incommon?
Ears – yes,ears.
PoordementedvanGoghslicedoff hisleftearwhile Professor Stelarchasgrownan extraone on his
leftarm.
The good professordescribeshimselfasa “performanceartist”andwhat a busychap he iswhat with
hisfeetonthe ground,hishead above the clouds,hisnose tothe grindstone,hisshouldertothe
wheel,hisfingeronthe pulse,hiseye onthe ball andhisthirdear onhisleftarm. He likestobe
knownsimplyasStelarcalthoughthe fuddyduddyCurtinUniversityif Perthinsistsonlistinghim as
ProfessorStelarcStelarcwhere he isaProfessorinthe HumanitiesFaculty’sSchool of Designand
Art. Yesfolks,againyourtaxesat work.
He wasborn SteliosArcadiouinCyprusin1946 and hisownmodestbiographyannounces,“Stelarcis
a performanceartistwho hasvisually probed and acoustically amplified hisbody.He hasmadethree
films of the inside of his body.Between 1976 and 1988 he completed 25 body suspension
performanceswithhooksinto theskin.He hasused medical instruments,prosthetics,robotics,Visual
Reality systems,theInternetand biotechnology to explorealternate,intimateand involuntary
interfaceswith thebody.”
Nowisn’tthat interesting?There ismore andthisiswhere we getto hisnew ear.
It tookhima decade tofinda medical teamto performthe twosurgeriestogrow the ear and finally
three Americansurgeonsperformedthe workforthe “Discovery US”TV show.The teampartly
constructedthe ear using “biocompatiblescaffolding”commonlyusedinplasticsurgerythenitwas
transplantedtohisarm whenStelarc’sowncellswere grownsoitbecame afunctioningandfeeling
part of the arm.
Nowhe is lookingforfundingthe complete thisprojectwhichwill connectthe earto the internetvia
a wirelessminiature microphonesopeople canlistenthroughawebsite afterthe earislifted sothat
it protrudesfurtherfromhisarm.His firsttestinsertingamicrophone didn’tworkashe developed
an infectionbutnowhe isconfidentitwill be all systemsgo.
He has some jollyinformative YouTube presentationsandInaturallycockedanear, both actually,to
theminthe vague hope of understanding.If youimagine thatIcouldn’tbelieve whatIheardyou
wouldbe right.
The extra earhas beengrowingsince 2007 andis now a permanentpartof hisbody.It will be made
to lookmore realisticby makingalobe fromhisstemcells. Iwonderif he wantsto expressthe
feminineside of hiscomplex artisticpersonalityhe willattacha single dropearring.
2. He has done verynicelythanksverymuchoverthe yearsfromthe publicpurse getting,amongother
things,a three-yearfellowshipfromthe AustralianCouncil forthe Artsin1995 and appointmentsat
universitiesaroundthe world. In1998, he was Artist-in-ResidenceinHamburg,Germany.Well,we
all knowaboutthe Germans,don’twe? He was appointed SeniorResearchFellow andArtist-in-
Residence atthe Universityof WesternSydneyin2008.
He evenwonthe “ArsElectronica Golden Nica” inthe “Hybrid Art” category in2010 inAustriaandI
am ledto believe thatisveryprestigious.
Perhapsoddly,MelbourneUniversityawardedhimanHonoraryDoctorof Laws in2008 – I know real
lawyersandjudgeswhohaven’tscoredthathonourbut,as far as I am aware,theydon’thang naked
fromthe ceilingwithhooksintheirbodies –or grow extraears forthat matter.Mind you,quite a
fewof themcouldbe otherwise describedas “performanceartists”.
But Stelarcismost definitelynotaselfishperson.
“The ear is not forme. I’vegottwo good earsto hear with,”he hasannounced. “It’sforpeoplein
otherplaces. They will be able to hearthe soundsof a concert,whereverI am,whereveryou are.
Peoplewill be able to trackthrough a GPS aswell, wherethe ear is.”
I wonderingwhatsort an unsettlingroarwouldbe heardwhenhe shovesacotton budin itfor some
essential upkeep.
He doesadmitthat thislatestproject is“somewhatdisturbing”andthatit couldbe a shock,evenfor
him,to lookdownhisarm and see anear.
“It is interesting,becausesometimesyou are sitting at homeat nightand the light comeson and
then you look down and there’san ear on yourarm. It is interesting because,of course,you don’t
imaginethat you could speakinto yourear or you don’timaginebeing aboutto literally hand your
ear overto someoneelse to examine,”he said.
I do wishhimluck – it wouldbe awful if failure compelledhimtotake the vanGogh ear option.