Hi, we're back!
We had an awesome – albeit fast – weekend in St. Paul with Amanda and Mark.
Friday night we drank and talked and played a tipsy game of Trivial Pursuit. Saturday morning we spent a good hour and a half swimming in the pool in their building; we saw the Body Worlds exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota in the afternoon; and that evening we had a fantastic dinner out at a place called Duplex in Minneapolis. Today we went out for a long, leisurely breakfast before Dave and I hit the road again.
I wasn't planning to delve into my weekend on here, but The Body Worlds exhibit I saw warrants a post.
I assume that most have heard of the exhibit … these people agreed to donate their bodies to science upon their death and are now on display and traveling the world. The exhibit was even more amazing and shocking than I expected it to be. Seeing real human bodies right in front of you – it's surreal!
We had purchased advanced tickets and on Saturday afternoon, we were let into the exhibit at our scheduled time with a big group of people. Even though they only let so many people in at a time, it was still really crowded in there. Walking into the dim room was a little like walking into a funeral – everyone was pretty quiet. Photography wasn't allowed, and while I considered trying to sneak a few, it just didn't seem right.
The full bodies were displayed around the outside walls of the various rooms and lit from above, and they were contorted into various positions to illustrate the different bone structures, muscle groups and internal organs. The accompanying signs named them (The Dancer, The Basketball Player, The Gymnast, etc.) and under the name was a year – the year they died. They ranged from 1999 all the way to 2006. To see the latter ones was especially insane – these bodies were living just months ago!
My feelings ranged from awe and wonder to trepidation and queasiness. The skeletons weren't your high-school-science-class smooth skeletons – they were skeletons that had been inside someone, all imperfect and raw. The muscles looked very much like the muscles of an animal – the muscles we carnivores eat every day. The organs were varying sizes and colors, and we even got to hold a lung and a liver. We saw the lungs of a smoker compared to those of a non-smoker – holy crap, I can't imagine any smoker not deciding to quit after seeing that.
We saw a slice of a human who'd been obese – and to see the strain on the organs, the enlarged organs, the excessive amount of skin and fat tissue – it was just incredible. And gross.
In the middle of each room were glass cases displaying smaller muscle groups, internal organs, and bones. Different deformities and tumors and diseases were illustrated through some different body parts, and those were a bit hard to take, but completely fascinating, too.
Finally, the most remarkable part of the exhibit was a room we had to wait in a 20-minute line to enter: The Embryonic & Fetal Development room. A sign outside told us that many of these fetuses were from historic collections, and that some of them were as much as 80 years old.
The fetuses started around 12 weeks and went on through to 34 weeks. It was astonishing, especially being a woman of child-bearing age, to see these fetuses close up – to see their fingers and toes and features. It was very disturbing, too, because let's face it – we were walking through a room filled with dead babies.
At the back of the room was the main feature of this part of the exhibit: The Pregnant Woman. This was a woman who had an illness and who wasn't sure she'd make it through her pregnancy. She died when she was eight months pregnant, and the baby didn't survive, either. Her whole body was on display and her uterus was cut open to reveal the baby inside. It was unbelievable. I stared and stared, trying to get a grip on what I was feeling – disgust, sadness, excitement, wonder, and even joy at seeing right in front of me what a baby looks like inside the body; how the organs must shift to allow the baby to grow; how it's all curled up in there. It was amazing. (You can click here to see the photo of her from Wikipedia.)
The other side of the room was more babies, these with different defects and deformities. Conjoined twins, cleft palette, and a few others. Finally, in the middle of the room were about eight glass cylinders with embryos inside at different stages of development, from right after conception to about eight weeks. The last couple were so neat – you could already see the teeny tiny fingers and toes.
After that exhibit, we zipped through the last two rooms. Once you've seen ten or twelve entire bodies, they start to look alike. Plus, we were all feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsettled.
As I've said, I was disappointed that I missed the exhibit when it was in Chicago, so I'm really glad I got to see it in Minnesota. It was a very unique and moving experience, and I'm sure those images will not leave my mind any time soon. It really makes you think a little more about what your body can do and how complex it is in there.
The exhibit will be in St. Paul until September 4, so if you'll be up that way, I recommend it!
I don't think humans are carnivores. :)
Posted by: Alba | July 31, 2006 at 09:30 AM
A flesh-eating animal.
Any of various predatory, flesh-eating mammals of the order Carnivora, including the dogs, cats, bears, weasels, hyenas, and raccoons.
One who victimizes or injures others; a predator.
An insectivorous plant.
I guess you're right - I stand corrected. I meant meat-eaters. I'm a meat-eater. You knew what I meant.
Posted by: Erin | July 31, 2006 at 09:36 AM
Sounds gross - it's amazing what they consider art these days.
Posted by: Kathy | July 31, 2006 at 12:29 PM
It was really great to see you and Dave this weekend - thanks for making the long drive up!
Just a note about Kathy's comment - it's interesting that you called this "art". That is one of the controversies surrounding this exhibit - is it art, or is it science? For me, it was truly an educational experience, so I consider it more science-based than art-based. I learned so many things that classroom lectures and text books never taught. Whether you consider it art or science, however, it's worth seeing for yourself. I truly have never seen anything like it.
Posted by: Amanda | July 31, 2006 at 01:20 PM
I know the exhibit is quite controversial, but I don't think "art vs. science" is one of those controversies. It's not meant to be art - it's obviously intended to educate people. This is what the inside of your body looks like, this is what a smoker's lung looks like, etc. It's education. And I certainly don't see anything wrong with it.
Posted by: Erin | July 31, 2006 at 02:32 PM
Not to keep on this same topic forever, but yes, art vs. science is one of the main controversies. During my first visit to the exhibit, I took the audio tour along with me, and this is something they continuously bring up. Some people feel that the exhibit does not reflect an educational or scientific purpose and is an inappropriate use of the human body for artistic purposes. Now, I don't see how they can think that in any way, but some people are just a little nutty. :)
Yet others simply feel that although the exibit is scientific, the bodies are not respected, based on the different poses of the bodies. This one I can see a bit more, but still, for me, this isn't a valid argument. These people donated their bodies specifically for this exhibit. They knew what they were getting into.
There are many other topics to consider with this exhibit, and many other bits of controversy that go along with it. But who doesn't like a good discussion among friends? It'll help you learn even more, I say.
Posted by: Amanda | July 31, 2006 at 04:44 PM