wearable mobile augmented About Concepts Artifacts Books Contributors Copyright© 2008 Isabel Pedersen

artifact: Kraftwerk Kraftwerk is a German electronic music band formed in 1970. Kraftwerk ‘s Technopop style has always dealt with posthuman concepts. The band fetishizes the body/machine dichotomy in its music and visual portrayals. http://www.kraftwerk.com/ Kalan Vuksanovich writes of Kraftwerk band members that “They are often pictured in front of a giant screen of graphics which, sometimes, seem to emulate their bodies. They wear suits that probably have some sort of low-end computing device connected which allows them to light up. Kraftwerk members sometimes replace their bodies with idealized, highly stylized robot mannequin replicas. The band serves as an interesting treatment of the body/technology dichotomy that dates back to the 70’s. . . the suits are reminiscent of the costumes from the movie Tron. When Kraftwerk members substitute themselves with their mannequin copies, it is also an implicit nod to Baudrillard’s hyper-real.”