September 30, 2011
Sarah Sydney: Where are all the cyborgs?
Prosthetics expert Sarah Sydney from the University of Bath joined us at Bestival and introduced us to the cyborgs that walk among us today, from people who can walk again thanks to prosthetic limbs, to the lucky recipients of bionic eyes. Thanks to engineers like her the deaf can hear, the blind may see, and the paralysed walk. Sometimes, human progress is an astounding thing.
“Darth Vader!” “The Borg.” “Robocop.” “Inspector Gadget!”
These were some of the answers to the question I posed to the Bestival-goers in the Guerilla Science tent: “Do you know any cyborgs?”
We all know cyborgs in science fiction. But where are the cyborgs in real life?
Well, technically, they’re everywhere. Anyone with a hearing aid, glasses, or a walking stick could be called a cyborg, because they are restoring or enhancing their body’s functions with mechanical or electrical aids.
Glamour Factory: Danny Rees
Danny Rees of the Wellcome Library will join us for our Late Shift Extra the Glamour Factory at the National Portrait Gallery on October 7th for an exploration of what makes a memorable face, and will introduce us to the ancient practice of physiognomy: reading virtue and character from facial characteristics. What, exactly, does the face reveal?
Marilyn Monroe - unmistakable.
What is beauty? Why are we attracted to certain faces and not others? Can there ever be an agreement on what makes someone desirable? If this has ever crossed your mind, you are not alone. Many have tried in the past to quantify and pinpoint the elusive quality of beauty. From Charles Darwin to Tom Ford you will find a vast array of opinions on “fashion” in faces.
Can it be true that symmetry and “averageness” are attractive? What happens to the development of our face when we experience illness? What constitutes a masculine or feminine face, and does that hold the key to success?
Join me on a journey exploring our heart’s desires. And while you are there, why not experience having your forehead “read”, courtesy of a rare piece of technology from 18th Century Germany. Only recently translated into English for the first time, see how well this centuries old technique bears up to the modern (un-botoxed) face.
Room 16 will feature images of gorgeous film stars and give you the chance to look at beauty (and your friends) afresh in a fun and active way.
September 29, 2011
Glamour Factory: Mark Pagel
Evolutionary biologist Professor Mark Pagel will join us at the Glamour Factory, our late night at the National Portrait Gallery on October 7, to discuss our “love-hate relationship with hair” in a Vintage Drawing Class with Susan Wilson. Here he tells us about the strange uniqueness of the naked human condition, and asks: What is this fascination we have with hair?
Jean Harlow, crowned by her characteristic ivory curls.
A recent newspaper article in the Daily Mail claimed that women change their hairstyles about thirty times throughout their lives. More than one woman I put this figure to responded, “Only thirty?!”
What is this fascination we have with hair? To sharpen this question, it must be pointed out that we humans have a love-hate relationship with hair. In fact, out of all the mammals – the group of species we belong to – we are naked, having lost the hair that covers most mammals’ bodies! Think of your pet dog sheared of all its hair, save for a little bob on its head, and that ridiculous image you have in your mind is in fact what you look like.
Now, mammals are not distinguished for much, but they did evolve one very good thing, and that is their fur. In fact, so good is fur at providing warmth and shielding us from the sun that, having given up our fur, we now kill other animals so that we can wear theirs.
So, to understand our fascination with hair we need to look beyond our evident repugnance of hairiness itself. And here our old friend Darwin can help, because he realized that we use our hair in ways not so different from the ways that other animals use bright colours and feathers to attract members of the opposite sex.
But, still, why our hair, and not some other part of our bodies? And why so many different styles? Why are women seemingly far more pre-occupied with it than men, when in most other animals it is the males that are elaborately decorated? Come along to the Glamour Factory on October 7 to find out.
See more from Mark in his TED Talk on how language transformed humanity.
Glamour Factory: BBC News
For a sneak peek at of our late night with Contemporary Vintage and The Broken Hearts at the National Portrait Gallery for our Glamour Factory late night on October 7, check out this clip from the BBC about the Glamour of the Gods, a celebration and exploration of the iconic, career-defining images of Hollywood film stars.
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