"Plastination" in San Jose, CA

"Plastination" may be coming to a city near you, if you are fortunate.

Plastination is the art and science of preserving human bodies, halting decomposition and saving them in a plastic form for medical study and public wonderment when on display.  The technology was developed in Heidelberg, Germany by Dr. Gunther von Hagens.  However, von Hagens wanted to present the human body to an audience far larger than the world of medical students.   His displays have been seen by about 25 million laymen so far.

I recently saw his exhibit,  Body Worlds 2,  at The Tech Museum in San Jose, CA.  There are imitator exhibits, but the von Hagen exhibit is the gold standard.  For one thing, all his bodies are from voluntary donors.

To enjoy this exhibit, you must first accept the notion that it is appropriate to display bodies in this way.  Much of what we do with bodies comes from the metaphors we apply to the body.  I remember, as an undergraduate student, in my History of Science class at Notre Dame, reading the seminal paper in which Descartes portrayed the human heart as a machine, the first time this metaphor was used in Western thought.  Once the heart, and the human body, was seen as a machine, much could be done with it, including having its parts replaced etc.

The exhibit in San Jose is quite poetic.  In one display, the entire nervous system has been removed from the body and is presented as a marvelous web.

The presentation can also be sobering.  The black lung of a smoker is shown adjacent to a healthy lung.

Many of the bodies shown are presented as athletes in motion, so don't assume that this exhibit is a series of cadavers.  Parts of bodies are stripped away to show muscle, fat, bones, or whatever a specific display focuses on.

There are three Body Worlds exhibits now circulating, staying for 4-6 months in a location.

This exhibit is at the Tech Museum, a lively place in San Jose.  If you are journeying far to see it and need lodging, just across the street is the landmark Fairmont San Jose.  There are several good restaurants within walking distance, starting with the Fairmont's Grill.

Comments

[cmf713]

Great update on something new !

[Claire Walter]

This exhibit drew recored crowds when it was at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science last year.

Claire@ http://travel-babel.blogspot.com