My mother and I visited the Koerperwelten Bremen exhibition today. It is one of the Body Worlds traveling exhibitions that display real human bodies that have undergone plastination. Here are some images from the exhibition in Bremen.
There has been some controversy about these exhibitions. Some claim that the display of the bodies devalues the donors or human life in general. In general I cannot understand those sentiments, although I found some of the plastinates a little questionable. For example, the poker players were not as educational as some other displays, although I can see that this arrangement may have been useful as a common “every day scene” accessible to visitors.
There was another body, I think it was called “mythical being” or something along those lines, where all muscles had been separated so that they could be seen individually. This was particularly visible in the arms, where all muscles for the fingers were now visible. That was highly educational, but I found the fact that the body was “riding” on its spinal column, as if it were a witch’s broom, somewhat distracting.
I left with a profound sense of wonder about the human body. Life is beautiful.
PS: The incredibly beautiful girl staffing the tickets booth, who looked a bit like a young Heather Graham, even accepted my US student ID. A rare occasion.
