Uploaded February 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Arthur Elsenaar was an Artist in Residence at Harvestworks in 2013. This performance took place at Harvestworks on August 15th 2013 and was one in a series of public presentations by the artist that demonstrates his pioneering artistic research on the expressive potential of the computer-controlled human face. Arthur (1962) is a performance artist, former radio pirate and facial hacker from the Netherlands. Elsenaar is fascinated by the intimate relationship of electricity and the human body and is the originator of electro-facial choreography. Elsenaar has recently been awarded a Ph.D. from Nottingham Trent University in the UK to continue his research and development of this radical new view of human facial expression as a site for electro-facial choreography.
His award winning work has been shown throughout Europe and the United States of America and has been acquired by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Since 2010 he is lecturing at the ArtScience Interfaculty of the Royal Conservatoire and Royal Academy of the Arts in the Hague, The Netherlands.
"@artelse facial hacking performance absolutely amazing! Need to see it to believe it #digi3″
Tweet by Digital Aesthetic conference
"Most disruptively, however, Arthur Elsenaar's wonderful and hilarious performance, in which a computer externally controls his facial muscles, had to be rescheduled when the computer in question refused to play along."
"Towards an aesthetic of failure" by Elaine Speight
About Harvestworks
Harvestworks' mission is to present experimental sound and visual artworks created in collaboration with our Technology, Engineering, Art and Music (TEAM) Lab. The Harvestworks T.E.A.M Lab supports the creation of art works achieved through the use of new and evolving technologies and provides an environment for experimentation with project consultants, technicians, instructors and innovative practitioners in all branches of the electronic arts. Our programs are made possible with funds from New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, mediaThe foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Materials for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, Jerome Foundation 50th Anniversary Grant, the Edwards Foundation Arts Fund, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Tokio Marine Nichido, Bloomberg Philanthropies, New Music USA's Cary New Music Performance Fund, and the Friends of Harvestworks.
Arthur Elsenaar was an Artist in Residence at Harvestworks in 2013. This performance took place at Harvestworks on August 15th 2013 and was one in a series of public presentations by the artist that demonstrates his pioneering artistic research on the expressive potential of the computer-controlled human face. Arthur (1962) is a performance artist, former radio pirate and facial hacker from the Netherlands. Elsenaar is fascinated by the intimate relationship of electricity and the human body and is the originator of electro-facial choreography. Elsenaar has recently been awarded a Ph.D. from Nottingham Trent University in the UK to continue his research and development of this radical new view of human facial expression as a site for electro-facial choreography.
His award winning work has been shown throughout Europe and the United States of America and has been acquired by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Since 2010 he is lecturing at the ArtScience Interfaculty of the Royal Conservatoire and Royal Academy of the Arts in the Hague, The Netherlands.
"@artelse facial hacking performance absolutely amazing! Need to see it to believe it #digi3″
Tweet by Digital Aesthetic conference
"Most disruptively, however, Arthur Elsenaar's wonderful and hilarious performance, in which a computer externally controls his facial muscles, had to be rescheduled when the computer in question refused to play along."
"Towards an aesthetic of failure" by Elaine Speight
About Harvestworks
Harvestworks' mission is to present experimental sound and visual artworks created in collaboration with our Technology, Engineering, Art and Music (TEAM) Lab. The Harvestworks T.E.A.M Lab supports the creation of art works achieved through the use of new and evolving technologies and provides an environment for experimentation with project consultants, technicians, instructors and innovative practitioners in all branches of the electronic arts. Our programs are made possible with funds from New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, mediaThe foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Materials for the Arts, Jerome Foundation, Jerome Foundation 50th Anniversary Grant, the Edwards Foundation Arts Fund, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Tokio Marine Nichido, Bloomberg Philanthropies, New Music USA's Cary New Music Performance Fund, and the Friends of Harvestworks.
