CYBORGS and OTHER NON-HUMANS F NEWSMAGAZINE 2009
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SAIC’s town hall meeting Faith Wilding discusses cyberfeminism Olafur Eliasson at the MCA CYBORGS AND OTHER NON-HUMANS f NEWSMAGAZINE 2009 19 | The Amazon.com FAIL 3 | Editorial 20 | Chicago’s Transhumanist chapter 4 | Art News and School News 21 | FutureBots are NOW! 5 | Nic Collins on hardware hacking 22 | Us and our Avatars 7 | An interview with Maria Pinto 23 | Olafur Eliasson at the MCA 8 | MFA show coverage 24 | The Modern Wing inside out 9 | SAIC Fashion Show 2009 27 | “Our Literal Speed” and Scholl Center seminars 10 | Pyros and their iron-melting cupola 28 | The Short List: Public Sculptures 11 | SAIC’s Town Hall meeting 29 | Comics 13 | The evolution of prosthetics 31| What are your instructors’cyborg parts? 14 | Faith Wilding on cyberfeminism 15 | What is Nerdcore? 16 | 5 things that already happened and you didn’t know 17 | Photo Essay: Cyborg students among us MAY EDITORS | Emily Bauman, Aurélie Beatley, Beth Capper ART CRITICISM EDITOR | Emily Bauman ART DIRECTOR | Aaron Hoffman ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR | Elliott Beazley DESIGN T.A. | Olivia Liendo ADVERTISING MANAGER | Allison Green EDITORIAL ADVISER | Paul Elitzik DESIGN ADVISER | Michael Miner PHOTOGRAPHERS | Christian Branch, Jen Mosier, Ilwon Yoon ILLUSTRATORS | Alicia Gaines, Matt Lane, Kira Mardikes, Alexandra Westrich DESIGNERS | Bora Ham, Amy Luo, Kirsten Makela, Afton McCann, Reneé Rondinone WEB EDITOR | Rachel Sima Harris WEBMASTER | Matt Griffi n MULTIMEDIA ARTIST | Ya-ting Hsu COVER | Alexandra Westrich TABLE OF CONTENTS | Alicia Gaines F Newsmagazine: A journal of art, culture and politics A student publication of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. To advertise in F, call 312.345.3838 or email [email protected]. F is a free monthly newsmagazine open to art and article submis- sions from any member of the SAIC community. We also welcome and publish letters from all our readers. Please contact the editors at [email protected] or 312.345.3840 for information, com- ments, or observations. Visit our website: www.fnewsmagazine.com © F Newsmagazine 2009. All rights reserved. F Newsmagazine [EDITORIAL] 3 Cyborgs are now BY EMILY BAUMAN When discussing the theme of this issue, I found Perhaps this is because some of it is scary. Most the possibilities that are being revealed to the media, that I received two opposite responses. From SAIC technology is fi rst developed for warfare (including show that perhaps what we imagine our future to be faculty, I believe one of the comments—which sums plastic surgery) or discovered due to the travesties of is already happening now, and that we need to rei- it up—was “cyborgs? They are so yesterday.” Where- war (experiments on POWs), and we are in the midst magine what our future might actually be, and when as, from many students, it was a look of confusion— of seemingly endless war (or series of wars). We can’t it is going to come. either not knowing what one was or wondering why even possibly know what we are capable of now, be- we might be interested in such an outlandish sci-fi cause most of it is probably classifi ed (not to sound topic. It seems that one generation has overindulged like a conspiracy theorist or anything). However, even in the fantasy of a cyborgian future and then left the what we do know about is quite shocking, such as cyborg in the dust without passing much of its knowl- robotic eye implants and suits that increase edge on to the generation that now lives in a world human strength. Even the options for female where cyborgs and robots have become a reality. fertility and the way we create children has When new technology and scientifi c advances (es- completely revolutionized, and the test- pecially with the market for stem cell research be- tube baby has been completely normal- ginning to reopen) are happening at lightning speed, ized in the last twenty years. Even clon- changing the way we live our lives and improving ing is old news, and DNA is not only a the quality with which our bodies can be taken care common term, but is being dissected to of—or compensated for—as we age, it seems naive to its individual controllable components. me to say that cyborgs are passé. The reality is that New ways to cure diseases or aid cyborgs are so today. Not the theory about the cyborg: those with disabilities are the reali- how it can transcend gender, race, etc. to create some ties of the near future. These are things post-feminist, post-postcolonial, post-multicultural that we need to embrace and refl ect utopia, but the cyborg as a reality—extensions of our upon, because they are the things of our bodies, replacements of our organs, tools for explor- lifetimes, they are our present-future ing things previously inaccessible to us. tense, not our imagination’s fl ights into It can be argued that as we walk around with false worlds. Is putting an electronic chip our contact lenses, hearing aids, iPods and Black- in our heads to increase our brain functions berries—with the possibilities of benefi ting from the so far away from putting one in our chest to options offered by plastic and reconstructive surger- regulate our heart? Is creating a baby from ies, machines that can regulate our bodily functions two women’s eggs so far away from creating (should they malfunction) and brain-altering medica- one from extracted eggs and sperm? Is creat- tions that can regulate our hormone imbalances—we ing an electronic prosthetic arm that responds are all already cyborgs. Your life probably exists in to brain waves so far from creating robotic creatures almost equal parts in real space and on the Internet, with fully functional appendages? How far away are through your email and social networks. But, disre- these technologies? (Actually, some of these things garding the computer as (one of) your bodily exten- have already been developed!) sions, the possibilities that have been opening up are While we can’t exactly answer all of these ques- seemingly endless. The reality is that we now live in tions in this issue, we do hope to offer some insight the science-fi ction, but we seem painfully unaware of into what we do know is happening so far. These it (or in denial of it). things, from our social imagination of the cyborg to Staff illustration by Olivia Liendo NOW OFFERING VINYL CUTTING! Axis of Output: The new Service Bureau & Advanced Output Center Blog - axisofoutput.wordpress.com The Service Bureau’s services are available to alumni Your only source for printing over 36” on campus 37 S. Wabash, Room 1111 Telephone: (312) 629-9155 [email protected] crit.artic.edu/servicebureau F Newsmagazine [NEWS AND BRIEFS] 4 ART NEWS ART ART NEWS NEWS SCHOOL SCHOOL NEWS BY AURÉLIE BEATLEY BY ANNABEL CLARKE New School Action The recent lay off of 12 faculty members at the Parsons COOL STUFF SAIC STUDENTS ARE UP TO New School for Design has the academic world in uproar. The fi rings, which were communicated to the concerned teachers via email, come after the New School’s embattled president, Bob Kerrey, received an overwhelming vote of no-confi dence VCS ZINE Students in the VCS grad department have grouped from senior faculty for his seeming inability to work with a together, DIY style, to create a zine called Canon. The provost. Students at the school have been protesting Ker- zine features contributions by F Newsmagazine writers rey’s unilateral approach to leadership since December 18 Joel Kuennen, Benjamin Pearson and Brian Wallace. by staging occupations of certain New School buildings and The zine includes short stories, theoretical texts, pho- by organizing protests and creating blogs, most notably the tography, collages, poetry and a temporary tattoo. The “New School in Exile,” which gives a voice to the dissenters. zine is distributed around the school and may be found The ire between administration and the student body and in the F stacks. faculty members has been gradually increasing even as stu- dents are suspended and/or arrested for their participation in the protests and occupations. When asked about the at- REFRACTED LENS mosphere at Parsons these days, Kristina Monllos, one of the F Newsmagazine Editor Beth Capper and Art His- editors of the NS Freepress, the New School’s news publica- tory/Arts Administration student Kelly Shindler re- tion, said, “When you have an art school and you cut twelve ceived a 2009 Student Association’s Project Grant back professors, you should be prepared for an uproar.” She con- in March for their fi lm screening series Refracted Lens. tinued by praising the student involvement: “For a college The grant will go towards paying fi lm-and video-makers campus–most are pretty apathetic–the atmosphere has been who participated in a screening on March 21 at Roots tumultuous. I’ve seen people at protests who have never been and Culture Gallery in Chicago, which includes SAIC involved in anything before.” It remains to be seen if the alum Buki Bodurin. Capper and Shindler are currently student involvement will actually have any positive impact working on a website to accompany the project featuring on the New School’s direction, but the pugnacious nature of interviews with the fi lmmakers who participate in their the student leaders as they face down their truculent admin- screenings and critical articles about the works. Look istration is fast becoming an inspiration to other universities out this Summer for the next Refracted Lens screening. similarly concerned with the futures of part-time faculty af- fected by the economic crisis.