Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s 16th century Mannerist oil painting, “Fire” (1566), is a collection of found objects of contemporary technology used to create the profile of a cyborg-like figure. The painting represents many fire producing elements including two cannons forming the shoulder and chest of the figure, a musket, a metal oil lamp as the mouth, and several flintlocks as the nose and ears. Arcimboldo’s painting is the oldest known representation of a cyborg figure and indicates the fascination cyborgs, or human-machine systems, have held for humanity through the centuries. Even though Giuseppe Arcimboldo has many different unique paintings created from found objects, his “Fire” is noted for its portrayal of technology and modern relevance. Cyborgs, as stated above, are “living beings whose powers are enhanced by computer implants or mechanical body parts” (Dictionary.com). We can see in this painting that the portrait is not just an ordinary human but an individual composed of mechanical parts that indicate an association between power/wealth and technology (the subject wears the medallion of a statesman). The technology of Arcimboldo’s day, unlike our own, emphasized the destructive power of fire. However, the painting shows the continued association of technology, power, and the future of civilization.
Although we have addressed the basic interactions between Internet and individual that creates a cyborg, there are more complex real-life cyborgs envisioned by artists as a means for expression and promotion. Cyborg personae in the media range in style from subtle combinations of self with technology to full humanoid robots. MF Doom, whose real name is Daniel Dumile, is well-known for adopting a super-villain mask and stage persona in his music and performances. The mask he wears, a modified Roman Gladiator helmet with a riveted front, combined with his album cover for Doomsday (1999) (named for the villain who kills Superman), indicates a machine component in his performance art. MF Doom’s supervillain persona, which he adopts for his music, culturally identifies with the strength and anonymity of technology for the dissemination of art.
MF DOOM pictured in concert in 2012
[Born Like This – DOOM’s 2009 album]
Daft Punk, also noted for their superhuman stage persona, wear robotic helmets in performance that both conceal their identity and create cyborg identities. Culturally, the popularity of Daft Punk indicates that their fans and listeners identify with the hi-tech, cyberpunk elements of their performance art (which also extends to their music – they were made famous in the U.S. by a song called “Technologic”).
Their combination of human body and technology provides anonymity and adds a subtle anti-establishment tone to their performances and music. In choosing to wear their masks, Daft Punk is able to criticize culture from the perspective of outsider cyborgs.
Daft Punk at the 2013 Grammy’s where they took home the Album of the Year award for Random Access Memories.
Rammellzee, who died in June 2010, was noted for wearing armor in his everyday life of found-object pieces of metal, technology, and Japanese samurai equipment. His Transformers-like persona would influence such mainstream artists as Cypress Hill and Beastie Boys.
His full cyborg persona ostracized him from his artistic peers but also marked him as futuristic and an evolution in art and style. Cyborgs as full cultural persona of real human artists, then, can be seen as both pushing the boundaries of art and appealing to consumers as new and different statements of self and music.
Although there are many different forms of Cyborg-related items in society, prosthetic limbs are unique among artificial devices. They have a long history of use beginning in Ancient Egypt, “The Egyptians were the early pioneers of prosthetic technology. Their rudimentary, prosthetic limbs were made of fiber and it is believed that they were worn more for a sense of “wholeness” than function. However, scientists recently discovered what is said to be the world’s first prosthetic toe from an Egyptian mummy and it appears to have been functional” (3).
Prosthetic toe dating believed to be approximately 3,000 years old.
The first modern style artificial leg was introduced by French Army surgeon Ambroise Pare, who is also known as the father of modern amputation surgery and prosthetic design.
Ambroise Paré designed prosthetic arm (dated 16th c.)
Technological progress became apparent for prosthetic limbs from the U.S. Civil War though both World Wars and the modern era, “As the U. S. Civil War dragged on, the number of amputations rose astronomically, forcing Americans to enter the field of prosthetics. James Hanger, one of the first amputees of the Civil War, developed what he later patented as the “Hanger Limb” from whittled barrel staves.
People such as Hanger, Selpho, Palmer and A.A. Marks helped transform and advance the prosthetics field with their refinements in mechanisms and materials of the devices of the time” (3). A particular place where prosthetic limbs are shown to go above and beyond human limitations and boundaries is the Special Olympic Games. Oscar Pistorius is an excellent example of how human beings, with wearable cutting-edge technologies, can change the way we view the world. He once participated in the Paralympics with two artificial legs in short-distance running competitions. After becoming the Paralympics winner, he attempted to enter the Summer Olympics and international competition in 2011, “At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Pistorius won gold medals in the men’s 400-metre race and in the 4 × 100 metres relay, setting world records in both events” (4). Pistorius became the first amputee-runner to compete at the Olympic Games. His use of prosthetics raised huge dispute among people regarding the real boundary of human and machine.Pistorius proves the emergence of a bionic component in society, as well as disappearance of true line for the human organism and the physically tangible boundary between human and machine.
Oscar Pistorius at the 2012 summer Olympics
Modern advancements in medical technology and the recent advances made in 3D printing technology mean that prosthesis have become capable of a degree of movement and ability unheard of in previous generations. Prosthetic limbs have also become less taboo and many wears are able to customize their limbs to their personal needs, interests, and aesthetic tastes.
Prosthetic limbs represent an evolution in technology available to augment the human body and wears represent a combination of human body and bionics that normalizes wearable technology. Prosthetic limbs are both practical means to help individuals experience a full range of motion and a step in human evolution towards changing the body to produce hyper-functionality in the limbs.
Cyborgs 