Here is a transcript page of the debate about: The Body between Stelarc
and Janine Antoni.
DEBATE on the BODY
Speakers: Susan Yim, Stelarc, and Janine Antoni
Susan: Welcome to UW Art Talk! Our guests here with us today are Stelarc and Janine Antoni. Our topic we’ll be
discussing is about body art. When someone thinks of body art, they probably think of tattoos and piercings. I know
both of you have different styles of using the body in your artworks. I’m curious to see what you both have to say
about the body and how the body is useful in portraying meaning into your pieces. Stelarc, you can start this off first,
what do you think about the body and how do you implicate the body into your artwork?
Stelarc: Hello Susan. Well I think the body, the human body, is obsolete. It’s like old machinery. I feel like technology
could replace the body since we use the body as a tool to pick up stuff or to travel. Technology can do all of that for us.
Janine: I agree with Stelarc that our body is a tool but for me, I think it’s essential to use the body in art instead of
replacing it or mutilating it. It’s an object everyone is familiar with and has. For example, I used my hair as a
paintbrush and painted the floor with hair dye in my work: Loving Care. They’re everyday objects people see and it’s
just unique to see someone using their physical body to create art.
Susan: Interesting! Now let’s talk about the artworks you create and why you’re creating and doing these things...
Stelarc: I use technology and robotics in my body art. I’m interested in how our mind controls our body and how it
can control something like an item it never was born with! We don’t need a body since all we need is our mind to
control objects. In: The Third Hand, I controlled and wrote “evolution” with a third arm, a robotic third arm, by using
electronic muscle stimulators to trigger movement to the arm. It makes you wonder, can we live eternally by
transferring our mind into a robot?
Janine: I like to use all or some of my body in my art since the body itself is so interesting. Displaying the body the
way I want to show femininity or the works of the body itself. My work: Saddle shows a silhouette of a female in a
position where she’s on her hands and knees. It can be looked as sexual but it may also show the status of a woman,
like gazing at a woman and she’s looking up at you. It can show culture and how there is more male dominance in a
culture.
Susan: Both of you use the body in different ways, so how would you two define “body art”? Janine: Body art uses
performance activity and we use our natural body to show that.
Stelarc: Hmm, body art shows performance activities but I think body art should show the physical limits to a body,
extreme actions in which people can view the extremities and what it does to our body.
Janine: When you say, extremities, is it the way that would injure the body or ways people will show the odd,
uniqueness of one’s body is unusual acts?
Stelarc: I would say more like things that would bring some pain to the body since no one wants to do that but might
want to see another person do that. I sometimes stick fishhooks to my skin and reel my body up as if I’m floating. It’s
interesting to the viewers; no one would ever attempt to do that but would wonder what if someone did that. I think it
should show things some people could not preform and do so easily. I mean, dipping your hair into hair dye and
painting it on the floor is what someone else can preform as well...
Janine: WELL-Susan: Well, look at the time! Thank you guys for coming here on UW Art Talk and thanks to our viewers for
listening. If you would like to listen to our extended talk about body art, please go listen to it in our podcasts section
for this week at www.UWArtistTalks.org. Thanks for tuning in and stay creative folks!
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