Biomechanical synthesis of H.R. Giger as a metaphor of technological metamorphosis
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The author conducts an interdisciplinary analysis of Swiss artist Hans Rudolf ‘Rudy’ Giger’s work which considers his art through the prism of technological transformations of human nature. The study applies a peculiar methodological approach to understanding the ontological metamorphoses occurring in the context of the technologicalisation of modern society, including, in particular, hermeneutics, psychoanalysis and anthropology. At the same time, the author interprets Giger’s artworks as a visual philosophy reflecting collective fears and traumatic scenarios of human fusion with technological systems. Special attention is paid to the concept of metaparasitism and the transformation of human identity in the conditions of technological progress. The study allows the author to conclude that Giger’s work is the result of comprehension of the processes of technologisation of human nature, and is a kind of prediction of the ontological shift caused by these phenomena. Despite the predominantly pessimistic nature of Giger’s work, the artist’s heritage can be considered as a unique and promising methodological tool for comprehending modern transformations.
Source: Semiotic studies
Author: Oleg N. Gurov
Institution: Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Language: English
Topic: Art, Technology, and Culture
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410088653