Museum of Science and Industry opens revolutionary exhibit on the human body
By Lauren FitzPatrick
Staff writer
There’s a razor-thin line between eeeew and ooooh.
The sight of blood and guts usually evokes a resounding eeeew, but chemically preserved organs, muscles and blood vessels of entire corpses in a new exhibit garnered nothing but awestruck oooohs and aaaahs.
The Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies exhibit opened Friday at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to curious crowds of all ages.
While the idea of showcasing actual human bodies and slices of preserved body parts may sound gory and distasteful, the reality of cross sections of human anatomy displayed from multiple angles proved fascinating to viewers who braved opening day.
The Givens family walked around an upright body designed to show blood vessel density, half of its rib cage opened like a door to display the heart.
“Dad, what is that?” 8-year-old Scott Givens asked his oncologist father, as he pointed to a glass case full of hearts.
As the family passed a male figure sliced into five sections front to back, Scott noticed something was wrong.
“I can tell this one was smoking,” he said, pointing out blackened lungs to his brother, prompting their grandmother, Eunice Givens to comment, “I hope they come away with some respect for the body and take care of their bodies as they grow older.”
“There was nothing like this in medical school,” Dr. Stan Givens said, pointing to a man, woman and child whose only remaining parts were blood vessels. “It could help anybody understand the human body.”
Common understanding of anatomy was exactly what the exhibit’s creator had in mind.
Dr. Gunther von Hagens developed the chemical process of preserving human tissue by injecting special polymers into blood vessels and organs.
The German doctor calls his process plastination, but he considers the exhibit the democratization of anatomy — body science for all.
It’s health education through autopsy of bodies donated to science, he said. “Autopsy means see for yourself,” he said.
The message is taught in a striking visual manner. Healthy organs lay alongside diseased ones, which von Hagens said he hopes encourages people to take better care of themselves. Bodies in athletic poses — swimming, running, jumping –showcase muscular potential. A man carries his own skin over one arm, while a skeleton man stands beside his muscles.
Von Hagens’ other lesson speaks to a deeper truth about the post-mortem experience.
“It touches the issue of life and death,” he said. “To understand life, we must embrace death and not hide it in the hospital.”
Although the doctor said he is not an artist, many viewed his figures as art.
“It’s awesome,” said Leigh Ann Hayes, 33, of Chicago’s Ukrainian Village community, standing before a male figure seated on a bicycle. The man’s body had been cut apart, then reassembled with space between parts to make the viewer imagine the connections.
“The artistic vision that went into it is pretty incredible,” Hayes said.
A group of seventh-grade boys gathered in the fetal development section to figure out how a pregnant woman’s organs fit in her round abdomen.
They immediately took to the 3-D aspect of learning things they’d normally read in books.
There’s nothing gross about the exhibit or this particular figure, posed in a reclining position to best display the 8-month-old fetus inside her, they said.
“It’s just another way of learning,” said Neil O’Mara, who attends Scullen Middle School in Naperville.
“It’s kind of sad, too, that all these people have died,” the 12-year-old continued, “but it’s cool to know they donated their bodies so we can learn.”
Except for one wearing a white hat, the plastinates are naked: “Nuder than nude,” von Hagens said, since many aren’t wearing any skin, either.
However, parents and grandparents agreed that the anatomy exhibit — breasts and genitalia included — is very scientific and completely appropriate for children.
As Dr. Givens said in the company of his sons and mother: “It’s just the body.”
Lauren FitzPatrick may be reached at lfitzpatrick@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5964.
WANT TO GO?
Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies runs through Sept. 5. Hours and ticket prices vary according to day, so call (773) 684-1414 or visit the museum’s Web site, www.msichicago.org, for specific information.
To learn more about Dr. von Hagens’ plastination, including how to become a body donor, go to www.bodyworlds.com.
