史上第一位進入太空的藝術家
Bionic Angel

source: highlike
Work: “bionic angel” The work series “bionic angel” takes as its starting point the future transformation and technological control of human evolution. Rapid development in the field of so-called “g-r-i-n techno-logies” (genetics, robotics, information and nano-techno- logies) are changing our bodies, minds, memories, and identities, but also impact on our progeny. These technologies all converge with the aim of enhancing human performance. Prenatal genetic determination enables children to be built to plan. Clone bodies become depositories for ersatz organs whilst manipulation of atomic structure creates new bodies which far outstrip the old ones in terms of robustness, elasticity and durability. The new bodies are adapted to the needs of the high-speed data highway. These developments based on genetic algorithms and neuronal networks mean that biological evolution can now be controlled; they open up the way to a new and superior form of existence for the human being. Such acts of transgression were already implicit in the idealised body images of greek mythology which the italian renaissance adopted as the perfect expression of radical transformation in terms of the understanding of body, mind and science – secular man became a utopian promise. Referring to such idealised body worlds from antiquity and the renaissance, the work series bionic angel takes up themes of metamorphosis from classical greek mythology as treated by the roman poet Ovid. Scenarios of creatures in the throes of transformation articulate the inevitability of genetic self-creation in the future of human history. The moment of metamorphosis itself serves as the key metaphor for the technology-driven transformation of the human body in its future post human and possibly immortal existence. “laocoon” As technology miniaturizes, it can be more readily implanted in the human body, turning it into an interface adapted to the speeds of data highways. In this manner direct brain-to-brain networks can be created. The motif “laokoon” is based on the Greek myth of Laocoon and the Hellenistic Greek group of figures in the Vatican Museum.
Photographer: Michael Najjar
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source: anti-utopias
Michael Najjar is a German artist, adventurer and – future astronaut. Born in 1966, he has lived and worked in Berlin since 1988. His work is shown in museums, galleries and biennials around the world.
He works with Photography and Video. The focus of his work is on key elements of our modern society driven and controlled by computer and information technologies. Najjar, widely seen as a visual futurist, transmutes science, history and philosophy into visions and utopias of future social structures emerging under the impact of cutting-edge technologies. The fusion of realistic elements with fictitious realities, is a recurrent hallmark in his work which is usually composed in thematically focused series. Najjar demonstrates the potential of the photographic image, capable of making visible what is normally invisible to the human eye. His work visualizes what very often is beyond the limits of our perception, unveiling what is hidden under the surface of what he calls “telematic society“.
Now Michael Najjar will go to even higher altitudes in his new series entitled “outer space“. He believes that “Today we are on the verge of another new era in space exploration and travel. It´s a transformational time for the space industry and scientific research with huge implications for the future of humankind and the relationship to our homeplanet”. Najjar himself will undergo intensive cosmonaut training in Russia, including jet fighter flights in the stratosphere, Zero G and centrifuge training, spacewalk simulation and computer simulations on the Soyuz spacecraft. The ultimate experience will be his own spaceflight as one of Richard Branson´s Virgin Galactic Pioneer Astronauts. His flight is scheduled for 2013 when he will be the first contemporary artist in space. The flight shall become a multimedia performance piece.
Michael Najjar´s work has been included in many international museum exhibitions and biennials. Harald Szeemann exhibited his work in 2004 in ”The Beauty of Failure / The Failure of Beauty“ at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona. His work was part of the 2006 Venice Biennale’s 10th International Architecture Exhibition; he was also included in the 9th Havana Biennale 2006 and Convergence Biennale Beijing 2007.
In 2008 Michael Najjar had his first mid-career retrospective at the Museum for Photography and the Museum for Contemporary Art GEM in The Hague. In 2011 he participated in the milestone exhibition “Atlas – How to carry the world on one´s back“, shown at the Museo Reina Sofía, ZKM Museum for Contemporary Art and Deichtorhallen / Phönixhallen Hamburg.
He has also exhibited at the Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Kunsthalle Hamburg / Galerie der Gegenwart, Hamburg; Deichtorhallen – International Museum of Photography, Hamburg; Edith Russ Site for Media Art, Oldenburg; Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Berlin; Goethe Institute, New York; Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson; Science Museum, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Birmingham; New Media Art Institute, Amsterdam; Museum Trapholt, Kolding; FORMA International Centre for Photography, Milan; Centre pour l´ image contemporaine, Geneva; Museo DA2 (Domus Artium 2002), Salamanca; Museo CAC, Málaga; Museo Es Baluard, Palma, Mallorca; National Museum of Science, Taipeh; Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing.
He is represented in numerous public collections including ZKM Museum for Contemporary Art, Karlsruhe; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum Deichtorhallen Hamburg; Gemeente Museum, The Hague; CAC Museum Málaga and in many leading corporate and private collections.
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source: jhkijker
Het Gem in Den Haag heeft weer een voltreffer: Michael Najjar.
Diens werk gaat over kijken. We denken dat we de werkelijkheid zien, maar kijken we wel goed? Ook Hans Aarsman houdt zich daarmee bezig. Iedere week toont hij in de Volksrant een foto waar hij op details wijst die vraagtekens zet bij de boodschap die de foto wil overbrengen. Najjar begon foto’s te nemen en die bijna ongemerkt te bewerken. Een foto die hij op Cuba maakte van twee oude mannen die op een stoeprand zitten, bewerkte hij zo dat de een de linkersok draagt van de ander.
Daarna is hij veel verder gegaan. De berichtgeving over de oorlog in Irak is volgens hem volledig geensceneerd. Hij manipuleert de foto’s die hij maakt van modellen die hij opstelt in de vorm van beroemde klassieke beelden, maar hij geeft er commentaar mee op de zg. maakbaarheid van de mens. Zijn zorg voor de toekomst levert indrukwekkende foto’s op de zo perfect zijn dat ze naar kitsch gaan. En ook dat is natuurlijk een commentaar op het streven van de mens naar het perfecte lichaam.
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source: designmagazin
Pražská galerie Dvorak Sec Contemporary pořádá až do 9. dubna výstavu Bionic Angel neboli Bionický anděl, jejímž autorem je německý umělec Michael Najjar. Expozice odhaluje prostřednictvím velkoformátových digitálních tisků především dokonalá futuristická nahá těla v technické dokonalosti provedení.
Pamatuji si doby, kdy umění vycházelo z pocitů a z přesvědčení v krásno, s pocitem odkazu pro další generace a s pocitem něco zanechat. Umění, které se léty transformuje a vybrušuje do Koh-i-Nooru, s prvky a s narážkami na společnost, s prvky šokovanosti a nespoutanými orgiemi, fikce, tvarů, absurdna. A však Michael Najjar nepatří ani do jedné kategorie. Jak řekl slavný Charles Chaplin ve filmu The Great Dictator „Lidé příliš myslí a málo cítí,“ což u této výstavy platí dvojnásobně.
Celý tento proces působí ale i tak velmi chladně. Je sice zatím vidět obrovský krok v před, ať už v oblasti filozofie, umění, nebo citu pro detail. Ale začnete si klást otázku, stačí to? Stačí tohle všechno, tato umělá inteligence a její probouzení aby vás chytla za srdce? Odpověď je jasná, ne, nestačí. Nestačí to ani ve filozofii a určitě to nestačí ani v tak citlivé oblasti jakým je umění. A jak by mohlo, vždyť tam kde přebývá hlava, na srdce už není místo. Na dílech nenajdete jedinou chybičku. Nenajdete jediný kaz nebo i jen náznak nějakého zásahu lidskosti. A najednou vám to všechno dojde.
Touha po dokonalosti a nesmrtelnosti je přece v historii lidstva hluboko zakořeněná. Spojitost s mytologickým uměním a genetickým algoritmem či s nervovými sítěmi je tak citelná, že občas dostáváte závrať z toho, že ty neživé bytosti bez umu se vás opravdu dotýkají. Tahle výstava vás nechytne za srdce, a myslím, že se o to ani nepokouší. Avšak v dnešní době Vám bere víc. Bere Vám rozum. A to je hlavním cílem Michaela Najjara.