Should Art Be Able to Get Under Your Skin?
By Nathalie Glanville
Monday 19th October 2009
Monday 19th October 2009
The art world has started to become used to the extreme unpredictability of contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst, but there is still a worldwide exhibition which is creating strong reactions, both positive and negative. Argued to be for the purposes of scientific research, I myself do not see such an enormous divide between certain works of Damien Hirst, such as ‘Autopsy with a Sliced Brain’, for example, with Professor Gunter Von Hagens’ revolutionary ‘plastination’ creations.
Marking its debut in Tokyo in 1996, ‘Body Worlds’ includes anatomical figures, including not only real skeletons, from up to 680 donors, but also exposure of real flesh and muscle systems, all in different poses and positions. The preservation technique has been perfected by Professor Von Hagens, who calls it ‘plastination’, which involves the removal of water from specimens and their preservation with silicon rubber or epoxy resin. These include animal plastinates as well, including so far a gorilla, a yak and a giraffe, and Professor Von Hagen has now worked with up to 200 specimens, taking great lengths in order for every one of the specimens to remain anonymous.
The aim of showcasing these rather gruesome figures, according to Professor Von Hagen’s wife, Dr Angelina Whalley, is to draw a lot of people who “come here to understand their illnesses better”. The most recent ‘Body Worlds’ exhibition had the theme of ‘The Cycle of Life’, showing the body in youth- going as far back as a pregnant woman’s stomach brutally cut open to demonstrate a curled up foetus in the womb- as it peaks, in sickness and health, and lastly, as it grows old. Perhaps this would be a point of comparison to Damien Hirst’s ideology, as he is claimed to have a strong obsessive tendency to portray death in his works, whereas Professor Von Hagens is, in a very original way, celebrating life. To demonstrate health and strength, there are a number of very athletic cadavers, enjoying sports such as football, gymnastics and rugby, and an example of a body in bad health is that of an obese person that has been sliced open, showing that organs also accumulate fat inside.
What has become the major centre of controversy is that the latest ‘Body Worlds’ exhibitions have included a ‘copulating couple’, the decency of which was much debated amongst the scientific couple. Interestingly, the sexy cadavers have been received in different ways according to where the exhibition is being held. They were met with outrage and disgust in Berlin, where Professor Von Hagen has been given the sinister nick name of ‘Doctor Death’, and the culture expert of the conservative party, Michael Braun, went so far as so claim ‘The Cycle of Life’ is “the low point in his tastelessness”, and a brash move to attain fame and fortune.
However, ‘Doctor Death’ seems much more at ease in bringing his exhibition to Zurich, Switzerland, which has lived up to its reputation of “personal freedom”, as a second copulating couple will be introduced here soon. Britain’s shocking factor was that in 2002 it had its first public autopsy in 170 years, thanks to the enigmatic Professor. The black- fedora wearing Professor himself is proud of his conception, and deems it “an honour to cause this controversy”. It seems his ambitions are much the same as contemporary artists, wanting above all to create an “aesthetic shock”.
Marking its debut in Tokyo in 1996, ‘Body Worlds’ includes anatomical figures, including not only real skeletons, from up to 680 donors, but also exposure of real flesh and muscle systems, all in different poses and positions. The preservation technique has been perfected by Professor Von Hagens, who calls it ‘plastination’, which involves the removal of water from specimens and their preservation with silicon rubber or epoxy resin. These include animal plastinates as well, including so far a gorilla, a yak and a giraffe, and Professor Von Hagen has now worked with up to 200 specimens, taking great lengths in order for every one of the specimens to remain anonymous.
The aim of showcasing these rather gruesome figures, according to Professor Von Hagen’s wife, Dr Angelina Whalley, is to draw a lot of people who “come here to understand their illnesses better”. The most recent ‘Body Worlds’ exhibition had the theme of ‘The Cycle of Life’, showing the body in youth- going as far back as a pregnant woman’s stomach brutally cut open to demonstrate a curled up foetus in the womb- as it peaks, in sickness and health, and lastly, as it grows old. Perhaps this would be a point of comparison to Damien Hirst’s ideology, as he is claimed to have a strong obsessive tendency to portray death in his works, whereas Professor Von Hagens is, in a very original way, celebrating life. To demonstrate health and strength, there are a number of very athletic cadavers, enjoying sports such as football, gymnastics and rugby, and an example of a body in bad health is that of an obese person that has been sliced open, showing that organs also accumulate fat inside.
What has become the major centre of controversy is that the latest ‘Body Worlds’ exhibitions have included a ‘copulating couple’, the decency of which was much debated amongst the scientific couple. Interestingly, the sexy cadavers have been received in different ways according to where the exhibition is being held. They were met with outrage and disgust in Berlin, where Professor Von Hagen has been given the sinister nick name of ‘Doctor Death’, and the culture expert of the conservative party, Michael Braun, went so far as so claim ‘The Cycle of Life’ is “the low point in his tastelessness”, and a brash move to attain fame and fortune.
However, ‘Doctor Death’ seems much more at ease in bringing his exhibition to Zurich, Switzerland, which has lived up to its reputation of “personal freedom”, as a second copulating couple will be introduced here soon. Britain’s shocking factor was that in 2002 it had its first public autopsy in 170 years, thanks to the enigmatic Professor. The black- fedora wearing Professor himself is proud of his conception, and deems it “an honour to cause this controversy”. It seems his ambitions are much the same as contemporary artists, wanting above all to create an “aesthetic shock”.