OT/ART: watercolor too boring?
Dindrane
LONDON (Reuters) - A German scientist who caused a storm of protest
with an exhibition of flayed human corpses is now looking for someone
he can cut up and recreate as a new improved person.
The whole process - from the search for a donor through their death,
dissection and reconstruction - will be broadcast on television.
"This person will be a landmark human being," said Gunther von Hagens,
whose Body Worlds exhibition was slammed by critics as a sick freak
show when it opened in London in March.
"They will pave the way for a future life with a more healthy, capable
and longer lasting body," he said in a statement released by the
television company involved.
Von Hagens and his panel of experts are looking for a terminally ill
patient who will die in the next few months. The donor will be asked
how his or her body has served them during their life and how it could
have been better.
Once the donor dies, the body will be deep frozen and dissected.
Within nine months, von Hagens' team hopes to unveil the preserved
corpse as a redesigned human being and put it on public display. Von
Hagens has said an ideal human being would have features such as spare
vital organs and hyper-flexible joints.
"This is a serious, scientific and educational exercise, albeit a
provocative one," Nick Curwin, executive producer of the team which
plans to film the project, said in a statement.
"Our donor will go down in history, preserved forever as what might
have been if evolution had got us right."
The Body Worlds exhibition, which has toured Japan, Germany, Belgium
and Austria, consists of around 30 preserved corpses displayed in
various poses. The flagship piece is a preserved horse and rider --
both skinned to display their muscles, bones and innards.
Since the exhibition opened in London, at least 20 people in Britain
have agreed to donate their bodies to von Hagens' institute for future
preservation.
~Dindrane
http://www.needcoffee.com
http://www.livejournal.com/users/dindrane
Patrick Moore
Dindrane wrote:
[snip-o-matic]
Hmm, honestly, I dont see the problem. Sure, its macabre, but I've always thought a
person's body is his property... if he wants to donate it for someone to dissect it,
cool. My only regret is that I wouldnt be around to see what they did, lol
And, does anyone else think it a bit odd that this guy is german?
--
One day we'll see our names in stone where pyres burn
The great who silent stood among you
Never praised, nor never known
Our thoughts defined the passing days
VNV Nation - Procession
erithromycin
>Dindrane wrote:
>[snip-o-matic]
>Hmm, honestly, I dont see the problem. Sure, its macabre, but I've always
>thought a person's body is his property... if he wants to donate it for
>someone to dissect it, cool. My only regret is that I wouldnt be around to
>see what they did, lol
Actually, you get to go on a trip to see the factory in China where they do
the procedure.
>And, does anyone else think it a bit odd that this guy is german?
No. As I said, the cadavers come from around the world, and the work is done
in a factory in the People's Republic of China. I've seen one of the
cadavers, in a student union in Glasgow, in a bar where people were watching
the World Cup. I think it was one of the French games.
--
erith - corpse!
Jennie
> LONDON (Reuters) - A German scientist who caused a storm of protest
> with an exhibition of flayed human corpses is now looking for someone
> he can cut up and recreate as a new improved person.
Erith and I saw some of the exhibits - one whole person (in
life an Irish professor) and some bits - here in Glasgow. We were very
impressed. There was the usual petty scandal, of course, from journalists
too lazy to pursue real news, but I didn't meet a single person there wjo
seemed shocked or distressed by the exhibition, though several admitted
that they had expected to be. A few small children attended and were
fascinated by seeing what bodies really look like inside and how they
work. I considered it an excellent educational opportunity for them. It
wasn't sensationalist, it was scientifically fascinating, and it was the
best sort of science exhibition, one which everybody seemed to be able to
connect to; one which didn't require a particular education or mental
brilliance to begin with. It was accessible and enlightening.
I understand (perhaps Magdalene can comment here) that what
gets to most doctors and morticians when they first start to work with
human corpses is the smell; that the smell of dead flesh is disturbing on
some deep level which a few never manage to overcome. The thing about
plasticised corpses is that they don't smell at all. They don't come
across (when one encounters them in person, as it were) as scary or
disgusting. They're just fascinating objects, which helps us to realise
the level on which we are objects too, and which help us to appreciate
just how complex our bodies really are.
> "This person will be a landmark human being," said Gunther von Hagens,
> whose Body Worlds exhibition was slammed by critics as a sick freak
> show when it opened in London in March.
Some critics reacted that way, but they were not actually the
majority, just the most vociferous - as one might expect. Let us not
forget that Leonardo da Vinci experienced just the same reaction to his
studies of anatomy.
Those of you interested in finding out more about Gunther von
Hagens' work may wish to check out his website at http://www.bodyworlds.com
Jennie
--
Jennie Kermode jen...@innocent.com
http://www.triffid.demon.co.uk/jennie
Ian Sturrock
>Since the exhibition opened in London, at least 20 people in Britain
>have agreed to donate their bodies to von Hagens' institute for future
>preservation.
I saw it, and it has to have been the most astonishing thing I've seen
in my life, without question.
The artery-people were the weirdest. I can't really describe them --
you had to be there.
Anyway, I considered donating myself. It cost money to do so, which
seemed a little unreasonable -- what, I'm offering you my body and you
want me to pay *you*? What do you think you are? :)
In the end though my main reason not to donate was that it seemed a bit
like tempting fate. I fully intend to live forever or die trying.
--
"Such a day, rum all out - Our company somewhat sober - A damn`d confusion
among us! - Rogues a-plotting - Great talk of separation - so I looked sharp
for a prize - Such a day took one, with a great deal of liquor on board, so
kept the company hot, damned hot; then all things went well again." (Teach)