CYBORG
1. First of all here are many different ideas, defintions and perceptions of what a cyborg is: a machine with no history of evolution (no memory) conceptually,a desire for perfection, extended life (immortality),a mutant (part human, part machine),an evolutionary step for humans (mammals>humans>cyborgs),a glorified computer nerd. 'One of Japans important roboticists believes that the future will be a 'cybot' society of robots, humans and cyborgs.''Soon perhaps it will be impossible to tell where human ends and machines begin.' The Cyborg Handbook - Chris Hables Gray.
We are already living in a very technologically advanced society where it is difficult to make the separation between biological and technological. Cyborgs are whatever one individually wants them (or us) to be. 'Whatever else it is, the cyborg point of view is alwyas about communication, infection, gender, genre, species, intercourse, information and semiology'.
2. The beginning of cyborgology is believed to be the equation for rocket fuel developed by the Russian mathematicion Ciolkovsky in the late 1800's. Ciolkovsky believed that rockets could travel into space in order to re-animate the human ancestors who had evolved into light eating creatures, travelling at the speed of light.
3. The process that continues to link this group discusson was memory. memory can be described but we do not know the process by which we come to it; the strongest re-call we have is through the senses, dreams and physical contact, the theory that a persons memory is stored in the cells of the body did also come up. 'The act of perceiving and the act of remembering are the same. Both assemble an emergent whole from many distributed pieces. Out of Control: Kevin Kelly. The next task was to find ways of connecting memory (and the act of remembering) to movement. Two directions emerged from this a) through improvising around a structure and b) with writing.
4. Joao, Esther, Barbara and Cindy went into the studio and improvised on this structure: person (a) dances for one minute and is watched by person (b); then they re create as accurately as possible person (a) solo in one minute; person (a) then re-creates person (b's) re-creation and so on...
This exercise revealed several aspects of movement memory: The phrase became clarified through the remembering process (i.e. intentionality of movement is more specific). All phrases became shorter in length. Often the two soloists would use each other for timing and spacial reference (with peripheral vision), with practice everyone quickly developed their skill at observation so the phrases were regenerated more accurately. Often a mistake or loss of memory while moving became a landmark for timing and quality.This particular exercise was watched by Steve Teers, video director, who discovered that he could use it for live morphing.
Jess worked on her own and introduced us to a new character: ALIEN TART. She read from a piece about remembering (events, people, emotions) she had written the day before, sitting on a chair in a wonderbra, blade skirt, red high heels and antenna. AlIEN TART then danced to her favorite song. Jess is working on the idea that one can invent a history or memories, as well as work with what most of us term 'real' memories.
