Spring Break
'Body Worlds' puts real bodies on display in Dallas
Controversial exhibit allows public to learn about anatomy
Christi Hang
Issue date: 1/26/07 Section: NEWS
In one hand, the skinless rider holds his brain and in the other, his horse's. It's not a scene from a horror movie - it is part of Gunther von Hagens' "Body Worlds."
"Body Worlds" is a collection of real bodies and body parts that have been plastinated, a process invented by von Hagens in 1977 to protect bodies from decaying while being studied in medical schools.
Plastination started out as a tool to help educate the medical community, but von Hagens said he realized it could also help educate the general public.
"Knowledge about the human body should not remain the secret of a privileged few," von Hagens said. "It should be freely available to everyone."
"Body Worlds" has been at the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas since Dec. 9 and will run until May 28 said Nicole Small, chief executive officer of the museum. She also said that since its opening, the exhibit has drawn 85,000 visitors, averaging 2,000 visitors a day with higher numbers attending on the weekends.
"We won't know for sure until the exhibit ends its run, but it is ranking as one of our most popular exhibits," Small said.
The exhibit features full-body plastinates in poses emphasizing different components of the body such as "The Chess Player," which displays the nervous system and "The Rearing Horse and Rider," which shows the similar anatomies, but proportional differences between humans and horses.
"I am a scientist with artful hands," von Hagens said.
The exhibit also includes body slices and specimens first injected with a special polymer. After hardening, the soft tissue was removed to only leave the blood vessels.
"'Body Worlds' is popular because we show that beauty is not only skin deep," von Hagens said. "We are beautiful throughout."
The exhibit has not only attracted audiences, but controversies as well.
"I could talk for two hours about controversy," von Hagens said. "I would be surprised if there was no controversy."
Von Hagens said he considers the controversies coming from three sources: anatomists who do not believe his work is real anatomy, religious figures who think it is inappropriate to show dead bodies in such a casual way and politicians who use the idea of banning "Body Worlds" to boost their own popularity.
"Body Worlds" is a collection of real bodies and body parts that have been plastinated, a process invented by von Hagens in 1977 to protect bodies from decaying while being studied in medical schools.
Plastination started out as a tool to help educate the medical community, but von Hagens said he realized it could also help educate the general public.
"Knowledge about the human body should not remain the secret of a privileged few," von Hagens said. "It should be freely available to everyone."
"Body Worlds" has been at the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas since Dec. 9 and will run until May 28 said Nicole Small, chief executive officer of the museum. She also said that since its opening, the exhibit has drawn 85,000 visitors, averaging 2,000 visitors a day with higher numbers attending on the weekends.
"We won't know for sure until the exhibit ends its run, but it is ranking as one of our most popular exhibits," Small said.
The exhibit features full-body plastinates in poses emphasizing different components of the body such as "The Chess Player," which displays the nervous system and "The Rearing Horse and Rider," which shows the similar anatomies, but proportional differences between humans and horses.
"I am a scientist with artful hands," von Hagens said.
The exhibit also includes body slices and specimens first injected with a special polymer. After hardening, the soft tissue was removed to only leave the blood vessels.
"'Body Worlds' is popular because we show that beauty is not only skin deep," von Hagens said. "We are beautiful throughout."
The exhibit has not only attracted audiences, but controversies as well.
"I could talk for two hours about controversy," von Hagens said. "I would be surprised if there was no controversy."
Von Hagens said he considers the controversies coming from three sources: anatomists who do not believe his work is real anatomy, religious figures who think it is inappropriate to show dead bodies in such a casual way and politicians who use the idea of banning "Body Worlds" to boost their own popularity.
Be the first to comment on this story