Association of Medical Illustrators Conference, July 16-July 20th, 2008

If anyone happens to be in the Indianapolis area next week, I will be presenting an illustrated lecture at the Association of Medical Illustrators Conference on Thursday, July 17th, at 1:15 PM. The presentation will cover the art and history or medical models, how they relate to the history or biomedical visualization, and my recent photo exhibition Anatomical Theatre.

On a related note, to get to the conference, I will be driving from New York City to Indianapolis, then home by way of Lexington, KY. Does anyone have any must-see suggestions either along the way or in either city?

Here is a full description of the presentation, from the conference website:

An understanding of early 3D models and teaching materials will provide historical review relating to the production and design of museum models, artifacts, and teaching aids. AMI members may benefit and gain insight into the role that 3D anatomical models play in contemporary medical illustration.

This lecture and Power Point presentation will feature photographs and imagery from pilgrimages to great medical museums of Europe and the United States. This presentation will focus on the art and history of medical museum artifacts, objects such as anatomical waxes, ivory sculptures, paper machŽ preparations, and preserved human remains, all created to teach medical students about visual diagnosis, anatomy, and the workings of the human body. The presentation will demonstrate, via lecture and images, that these artifacts communicate not only relevant medical lessons, but also function both as artistic and cultural objects. These museum pieces often represent changing metaphors with which the mysteries of the body have been understood, shifting ideas about how science should be presented. Also revealed in these models are understandings of gender, notions of the ideal versus the aberrant body, and evolving approaches to death. These artifacts contain an undeniable humanity and pathos that give the works the emotional depth generally attributed to artworks. This lecture will discuss preservational and sculptural methods; known artists of the genre, contextualization of these artifacts for a contemporary viewer, and review how these artifacts illustrate the history of medicine.

All Images from Anatomical Theatre Exhibition.