Researcher and curator Lua Vollaard wrote an exclusive article for the Third Floor about her findings from the archival research on the Philips semiconductor factory in Nijmegen. How did the “neat girls” with “manual skills,” who played a crucial role in making microchips in Nijmegen,...
The exhibition ‘BodyDrift – Anatomies of the Future’ consists of three parts: Better Bodies, the Biometric Body and Beyond the Body. Find out more about the part Better Bodies here.
The scientist Manfred Clynes, who coined the word ‘cyborg’ in 1960, once said that anyone who puts on a pair of glasses was already integrating technology in their body and was thus a cyborg. Many of us these days wear a smartwatch that minutely monitors our body, while disabled athletes can now only take part in official competitions if they can prove that their prostheses don’t actually give them an advantage. Viewed in this light, the birth of the first genetically manipulated baby last year in China was an event of unprecedented historical importance.
Such fundamental interventions in human life and the body are an acute illustration of the extent to which technology and design have become part of our identity. They oblige us to review our definition of the human being. Some have even called for a new human right – the right to design oneself.
As a result, technology is becoming an extension of ourselves, not just figuratively, but increasingly often in a literal sense too. Many discoveries have arisen from the desire to improve the human body. We have now reached a historical turning point when it comes to the interaction between body and technology. It could go two ways: technology might enhance our bodies, make them stronger and offer them unprecedented possibilities. Or else our bodies could become a vulnerable and outdated interface in a world of networks and systems.
The works shown in this part of the exhibition keep faith with our bodies. Although they were conceived in different periods and differ widely from one another, they share a fundamental belief in the human body. The body is extended, embellished, defended or armed, ready to face the future.
Gerelateerde verdieping items
Tim Gouw is a writer and stay-at-home dad. He writes and speaks about (equal) parenthood and the division of roles that comes with it. Exclusively for the Third Floor, he wrote an essay within the framework of the subtheme Women as Homemakers from the exhibition Women as Technology. He wonders: if...
Sex historian and journalist Hallie Lieberman explores a Dutch design legacy of sextoys. In this exclusive article for the Third Floor, she writes how Jandirk Groet, designer of Fokker airplanes, partnered with American feminist porn director Candida Royalle to create Natural Contours.
As part of the exhibition Women as Technology, we have compiled the exhibition texts and the extensive timeline into a special booklet. You can browse the booklet here.
Thijs Gras is a historian and ambulance paramedic. He has published several books on the history of ambulance care, but he also maintains a particular interest in the history of incubators. Exclusively for the Third Floor, he wrote an article on the phenomenon of the ‘incubator as...
The exhibition Women as technology features a timeline of the themes of emancipation of women in the Netherlands, laws and regulations and development of technology. In this article, you will find a more detailed explanation of the theme development of technology.
The exhibition Women as Technology highlights several women from past and present. Here you can find an overview.
The exhibition “Women as technology” features a timeline on women's emancipation in the Netherlands. In this article, you will find a more detailed explanation of this timeline.
The exhibition 'Women as technology' features a timeline on laws and regulations in the Netherlands. In this article, you will find a more detailed explanation of this timeline.
The womb might well be the most discussed and regulated female organ in history. Not as part of the body, however, but as an abstract, reproductive object.
Before ‘computers’ were machines, the word was used to describe women who performed complex calculations. Their work was indispensable, but was undervalued in terms of both status and pay.
Although domestic technology is seemingly designed to reduce work, it has mostly served to heighten the existing division of roles within the home.
Rather than being futuristic fantasies, hyperfeminine robots in movies and comic books reflect deeply rooted gender stereotypes. Their design is rarely neutral: they are slender, sensual and obedient – tailored to the male gaze.
In an age where our lives are inextricably tied up with new techniques and technologies, it’s important to pause from time to time to reflect on how these things are influencing both us and our society.
Heera Shin researched the development of metaverses and avatars and asked herself: how do we care for this growing number of avatars, our digital identities?
As not to get left behind as digitalisation rapidly develops, FashionUnited has compiled a selection of terms and words that are imperative to understanding this vast new realm.
The short history of digital fashion.
Afgerukte ledematen, ontbindende lijken en afstotelijke monsters. Net als in het posthumanisme staat in gothic het lichaam centraal. Toevallig? Volgens curator Tomas van den Heuvel niet.
In what is also known as 'the Inflatable Era', inflatable architecture was manufactured as a prerequisite for a new, nomadic way of life. Space travel served as the inspiration for these capsules. However, are these high-tech hide-outs post-human or not?
Posthuman; once your eyes are opened to it you see it everywhere. But what is it? In this recurring series, curator Fredric Baas explains. In the first column, Baas focuses on the changing human body, something Austrian designers were already investigating in the 1960s.
The works in the part 'Beyond The Body' of the exhibition BodyDrift have left the human body behind. They show how manipulable we have become both physically and mentally, and ask us to consider how much ‘self’ we still retain.
The body is becoming increasingly analysed and digitized, with and without our knowledge, steadily blurring the boundary between the private and public sphere. Explore ‘The Biometric Body’ in the exhibition BodyDrift – Anatomies of the Future.
Fredric Baas, curator of BodyDrift – Anatomies of the Future, spent two years researching the ‘posthuman’ theme. He shares the fruits of that research in this series of articles.