other cosmologies ~

[lookingland]

i went to see Gunther von Hagens' BodyWorlds this weekend. if you ever have a chance to see this exhibition, i recommend it highly. it's not skeery and it's not squeamy. something about the plastination process makes the exhibits very friendly and accesible and you will definitely come away with a deeper appreciation for the complexity of your body.



i love these cross-sections.
they remind me of shrinky dinks.

Comments

[bachsoprano.livejournal.com]

Ooooooooo! I really wanted to see that! I started a sciene degree once upon a time and dissections were the only things I enjoyed...I'm fascinated by how our bodies function!

Did they have the horse there? I heard there was a horse....

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

they did in fact have the horse ~ it was amazing!

: D

[babalueye.livejournal.com]

Easy-Bake Anatomy.....I was especially grateful that I got to see this exhibit after having a well rounded education in anatomy. It made it so awesomely interesting.....being able to look at things like this and actually KNOW what youre seeing is amazing....the body is truly a miracle, so complex and yet so simple functionally.

I think the idea that the exhibit carried so much controversy initially is extremely amusing...what with the idea that we are all actually MORTAL, and somehow people thought that might be too dirty and ugly to put on display. The show itself is very tasteful and largely educational in the way its laid out. I think it should be required viewing for anyone in the various health professions.

I never needed to see this show as "art". It is what it is, a scientific catalogue of what we are made of. No one can escape it, we all have one of those squishy little jobbies called a "spleen'.....its just a fact. I also really liked the idea that they showed examples of unhealthy organs and tissues along side the healthy ones.....this really gives a perspective of how fragile we really are and how our lifestyles do indeed effect us immensely. To the more experienced viewer, it also shows an incredible perspective on how our bodies bend and reshape and compensate for our evironment .....I think not only getting to see a real spine was interesting, but getting to see three or four and how different they were from each other according to the individual was the real pay-off.

Two thumbs up for Gunther and his merry band of shrinky dinkies! Vote Plastination in 2008!

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

actaully, i know someone with no spleen.

: D

but i agree forwith and throughall. okay, so there were some "bits" showing here and there ~ but everything else was so inneresting, who was looking at the bits?

[babalueye.livejournal.com]

I may have seen a bit or two...but plastination tends to literally suck the lions share of the bits right out of existence. Certainly no impressive susbstance was left of them to make note of. They tended to look more like weathered sling-shots than actual bits.

Okay, so spleens can be removed...but so can toenails....generally speaking we are all born with them.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

actually i thought it was very interesting that most of the peeps in the exhibit had finger- and toe-nails still on them ~ no skin, but just the nails. that was a little weird.

: D

[sb77.livejournal.com]

Hmm, looks pretty cool. As a matter of fact, i was planning to go to similair exibition here in Amsterdam; http://www.bodiesamsterdam.nl/nl/intro.html
But its just humans there, so i hope the other one will be here also someday.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

ohhh ~ that looks really interesting and very similar to hagens' exhibits.

you'll have to report back on how it is!

: D

[sb77.livejournal.com]

I went yesterday and it was quite impressive! You really could have a good look at the human body. You could see everything, litterly everything...!

(Check my livejournal for a sketch i made there.)

[babalueye.livejournal.com]

OH!

And mad-vascular props to GVH for incorporating the kinesthetic aspects into the displays....seeing everything in action is the most effective lesson in the exhibit.

[countrysoaper.livejournal.com]

I have heard that every person featured in the exhibits was known to the artist in one capacity or another.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

it's very interesting to read about hagens ~ and very interesting to see how he acquired his donors/volunteers. there's something really wonderful about the gift of all this for our edification.

: D

[(Anonymous)]

That's pretty interesting.

I wouldn't mind donating my body to something like that after death. I always liked the idea of my body parts helping others even after I've left this world. It'd be way cool if my body is molded like that skateboarder picture! Or the one riding the horse. ^_^ That's a really neat, educational display. I'd love to see it, and it sounds like something I could tolerate since I have one of the wimpiest stomachs in the world. XD

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

it would be especially cool if you got to pick your pose!

there was one of a woman releasing two bird frm her hands that was so serene ~ i think it was my favorite.

: D

[geckobird.livejournal.com]

Aw, it would!

And that sounds very serene. I wanted to see more pictures at the website you provided,but I just couldn't seem to find any other than the few listed with the text. The skateboarder picture fascinated me; I'd loved to see that one in person just to see the twists and turns of the body. What other poses did they have?

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

they had a bunch ~ running, a gymnast on rings, the guy riding the horse, the reclining pregnant woman, a man playing chess ~ if you do a google image search for bodyworlds you can see more pictures and poses.

: D

[geckobird.livejournal.com]

... I posted a comment. Then realized that I wasn't logged in. So the anonymous one is me.

LJ just won't remember me anymore. Am I that forgettable, LJ?

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

but i remember you ~ ! and i answered above.

: D

[geckobird.livejournal.com]

Yay! It is good to be remembered! XD

[utter-scoundrel.livejournal.com]

I missed this when it came through Chicago. The media, as usual, made a controversial mountain out of a non-controversial molehill...

Shrinky dinks. That takes me back.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

i think the exhibit is tasteful, edifying, and extremely sensitive to the dignity of the human person.

controversy about this is just dumb.

do they still make shrinky dinks?

: D

[utter-scoundrel.livejournal.com]

Apparently so:

http://www.shrinkydinks.com/

I somehow remember the shrinky dinks in my day being more interesting, though...

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

maybe because they were so novel ~ i dunno how kids manage childhood these days, frankly.