Full text press release
Having been established on 2004 and following twelve years of presence in the Greek Academia, the Department of Audio and Visual Arts of the Ionian University will have the honor to nominate as the first Honorary Doctors of the Department, two of the most groundbreaking pioneers of contemporary art, science and theory – Professor Roy Ascott (Plymouth University, UK) and Professor Stelarc (Curtin University, Australia).
Professor Roy Ascott is an artist and theorist of Media and New Media Arts, who has focused on the theoretical and practical application of cybernetics in art and who has also coined the concept of Technoetics; a field that brings together art, science, technology and consciousness. Since 1970, Roy Ascott has lectured in a series of universities across Europe and US including Slade College of Fine Art (UCL, University of London), Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London), University of Applied Arts (Prof. of Communications Theory, Vienna) and University of Wales (Prof. of Interactive Arts) among others. He is President of the Planetary Collegium, an internationally awarded research centre of Plymouth University (UK). Among a series of international awards, he has also been the recipient of the Ars Electronica Golden Nica Award for Visionary Pioneers of Media Art (2014). His work has been exhibited in various international galleries and cultural institutions including Whitechapel Gallery (London), TATE Modern (collection) as well as at the Shanghai Biennale and Venice Biennale. His research has been published in a series of interdisciplinary and intermedia journals, conferences and symposia (US, Europe, Asia, Australia). He is the Founding Editor of Technoetic Arts (Intellect) as well as an Honorary Editor of Leonardo (MIT Press).
Professor Stelarc is a groundbreaking performance artist and Distinguished Research Fellow of Curtin University. He has visually probed and acoustically amplified his body. His work explores in interdisciplinary and intermedia ways the Alternate Anatomical Architecture; integrating elements from Prosthetics, Robotics, Virtual Reality, Internet and Biotechnology; through Performances of augmented and extended body constructs (THIRD HAND, STOMACH SCULPTURE, EXOSKELETON, PROSTHETIC HEAD, EXTRA EAR). He is an Honorary Professor of Art and Robotics of Carnegie Mellon University as well as an Honorary Doctor of Monash University (Melbourne). Among a series of international awards, he has also been the recipient of the Ars Electronica Hybrid Arts Prize (2010) and Emerging and Experimental Arts Award from Australia Council (2015). Between 2006-2011 he was Senior Research Fellow and Visiting Artist at the MARCS Lab (University of Western Sydney). He is currently Chair in Performance Art of Brunel University (UK) and a Professor at the School of Design and Art of Curtin University (Australia). Stelarc’s artwork is represented by the Scott Livesey Galleries (Melbourne).
As a special part of the forthcoming 10th Audiovisual Arts Festival of the Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Roy Ascott and Stelarc will be nominated Honorary Doctors of the Department in a special ceremony organised at the Ionian Academy, Wednesday May 18 (12.00).
Free entrance.
