BES_TEK #1: MAN AND THE MACHINE

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bes_tek zine one explores the theme of the man and the machine ( cyborgs, machinery and transhumanism ) through the lens of art and science. We’ve got some amazing diverse contributions across different media and perspectives. have fun reading!

!! WELCOME !! by artwork carmen hartmann

KLAAR STRAATMAN + QUENTIN ZERO (MICHIEL)

klaar straatman is an artist from groningen who’s work mostly is, or revolves around, fashion and focuses exploring different views on reality or/and on themself theyre planning to study fashion at artez next year. quentin zero is an interdisciplinary activist artist from groningen, netherlands, planning to be studying design at minerva next year. ig: quentinzero, yt: quentin zero the project explores plastic surgery and how it changes our perception of bodies: whats real?

ONE:

RAYMOND

KURZWEIL

Raymond, „Ray“, Kurzweil is a modern transhumanist thinker, author, inventor and director of engineering at Google. In 2006 he published his book „The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology“.

Where he expounded extensively why and how the human race will overcome itself in 2045. The moment when machines, due to artificial intelligence, are able to optimize and replicate themselves, he called the Singularity. „It’s a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed.“ (1) For Kurzweil this occurrence means becoming a part of a machine or artificial intelligence to withstand the technological progress and overcome biological shortcomings. That is why the understanding of individual personhood must be reformed fundamentally.

He sees himself as an Singularitarian, which means, to him, there is no consistent religious system. Singularism for him is the basic understanding of technological impetus and a discernment which leads into a reconsideration of everything. From health and wealth, to the nature of death. He refuses the sight, that his ideas area substitute vision for people with lost religious

beliefs. Ideas with the power to change the world are rising, and as an expert in the field of technological innovation he is spreading these radical consequences.

Since people will acquire the power to prevail this old goal today, it is up to society to choose: how do we fulfill it? Can we fulfill it?

CARMEN HARTMANN: ESSAY + ILLUSTRATIONS find out more about this work at carmenhartmann.myportfolio.com

ASTRID VERBREE

astrid verbree is a female artist from groningen, netherlands. 18 years old and going to be studying Art&Design at noorderpoort this year. their work is a hand-drawn binary portrait, using ones and zeroes to create a face

ANTHEA ENGELHARDT

anthea engelhardt is a freelance animator and illustrator from germany, who studied at Minerva and is now continuing with a design master.

Her 360°-animation lets you explore the cultural history of your heart and can be watched on antheaeillustration.wordpress.com.

TWO:

FRIEDRICH

NIETZSCHE

„Man is a rope stretched between beast and overman - a rope over an abyss.“ - Thus Spoke Zarathustra The endeavour to transcend and vanquish human fallibility is nothing new. It is discussed if Friedrich Nietzsche, born in 1844, was the first transhumanist philosopher. He saw man as an deficient biologicalbeing which has to overcome itself by the means of it’s own power.

Ultimately, to become something new, much stronger. Nietzsche’s allegory of the Übermensch arose from two basic motives: the unconditional pursuit of power and the desire of surmounting the own weakness. Nietzsche distanced his philosophy from Christianity’s conception of the human as the crown of creation. „God is dead, God stays dead and we have killed him!“ is another famous quote from his critical writings on religion. This views God as a symbol for a moral shaped by resentment and envy. In the 19th century, Nietzsche was a lonely man because of his controversial statements. Read in today’s times, they appear visionary. Today, in the digital age, god is dead. Fallen into oblivion. Our western values and culture are based on christian models, true religiousness became rare. The pursuit of power and selfoptimization is omnipresent.

CARMEN HARTMANN: ESSAY + ILLUSTRATIONS find out more about this work at carmenhartmann.myportfolio.com

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bes_tek magazine is

founded and designed by

quentin zero ( michiel teeuw ). you can reach us at facebook ( bes_tek ) , email ( michieltw.99@gmail.com ) or submit via instagram with #bestekmag. we are always looking for contributors or people who wan t to help with the organisation. last but not least, tell all your artsy friends about bes_tek zine!

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xoxo, bes_tek