Puppets, Cyborgs and the Uncanny

Anlässlich der derzeitigen Sonderausstellung „DAS UNHEIMLICHE“ laden wir zu einem Abend, in dem das unheimliche Potenzial, das von belebten Puppen ausgeht, einer vielschichten Betrachtung unterzogen wird. Nach ihrem Kurzvortrag „Puppets, Cyborgs and the Uncanny” diskutiert Georgia Panteli mit Markus Schinwald und Monika Pessler. Schinwalds Arbeit Misfits (Außenseiter), Marionetten in Kindergröße mit grimmigen Gesichtszügen, ist Teil der Ausstellung, die Museumsdirektorin Monika Pessler kuratierte.

Über den Vortrag:

In the literary tradition of the animate/inanimate archetype what stands out is the desire of the sentient robot to become human. Often portrayed in film as a threat, the cyborg that dreams of becoming human functions as a mirror to how we perceive ourselves and humanity. From Ghost in the Shell to Blade Runner the question of what makes us human remains central. Yet as the cyborg’s mechanical body mirrors our own, the degree of its resemblance to a human body creates the phenomenon of the uncanny valley. How real is too real for our minds to process and how does this apply to the developing robotics industry?

Dr. Georgia Panteli teaches film and comparative literature at the University of Vienna and at University College London. Her monograph From Puppet to Cyborg: Pinocchio's Posthuman Journey was published in 2022. Her research interests include posthumanism, science fiction, myths, fairy tales and their retellings.

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