Jan Švankmajer's animated films can be found at the intersection of two practices: the ancient tradition of the puppet show and a certain type of contemporary art, concerned with re-creating human likeness. From de Chirico’s mannequins to the hyperrealist sculptures of Ron Mueck, from Hans Bellmer's ‘Dolls’ to the waxworks and artificial limbs created by Cindy Sherman, and from Marcel Duchamp's machine-like ‘Bride’ to computer-generated avatars, this lecture explores the role of the puppet in modern and contemporary art, and the way in which these practices seek to define what it means to be human.
Irina Kulik (b. 1970) is an art critic, cultural studies expert, PhD, lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA Moscow), the author of numerous publications on contemporary art, cinema and modern music.
