The following week, we are delighted to be hosting Bryn Mawr's Dr. Elly Truitt talk on "The Dark Arts in the Dark Ages" (Thursday, Jan 30) followed by an assortment of Valentine's Day events including "Women Who Bite: Chastity Belts, Castration Anxiety and Feminism" with Art Historian Karen Bachmann (Tuesday, Feb 11) and, on Valentine's Day itself, "Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica" with Colin Dickey (author of Cranioklepty) with drinks and music by Friese Undine (Friday, Feb 14). Also, stay tuned for more on Morbid Anatomy's first ever singles event (!) organized and hosted by Daisy Tainton (Monday, Feb 10).
If none of these sufficiently intrigue. we also have the first iteration of our new Death and The Occult in the Ancient World Series with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Ava Forte Vitali; the topic? "The ‘After’ Life: Death in Ancient Egypt" (Thursday, Feb 13); this will be followed by "Selfies At Funerals: Postmortem Photography and Cultural Taboos" with Halli Gomberg (Thursday, Feb 20) and "Death in a Nutshell: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death" with special guest Bruce Goldfarb, executive assistant to the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland (Thursday, Feb 27).
If you fancy learning some arcane taxidermilogical arts, you might be interested in such workshops and classes as Anthropomorphic/Naturalistic Squirrel Taxidermy (Sunday, Jan12); Bunny/Jackelope Taxidermy (Saturday, Jan 25th); Valentine's Day Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop (Saturday, Feb 1); Victorian Art of Hair Jewelry workshop (Saturday, Feb 8); Frederik and Rachel Ruysch Inspired Wet Specimen Workshop with Moles (Sunday, Feb 9); Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class (Sunday, Feb 23); or Melanistic Pheasant Taxidermy Class (Saturday, March 8).
Full details follow on all events and workshops follow; hope very much to see you at one or more! You can also always find a full list of events on our Facebook page by clicking here.
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Anthropomorphic/Naturalistic Squirrel Taxidermy Class with Divya Anantharaman
A class with Morbid Anatomy Library Taxidermist in Residence Divya Anantharaman
Date: Sunday, January 12
Time: 12:00 PM
Admission: $250.00
*TICKETS MUST BE PRE-ORDERED AT http://squirrelytaxidermy.brownpapertickets.com/
***Offsite at The Fabricoscope (41 Willow Place, #2, 11201 Brooklyn) (MAP)
Subway: Court St, Borough Hall, Jay St. Metro Tech.
In this intimate, hands-on class (limited to only five students), we will study the nutty ways of the squirrel! Students will create a fully-finished classic squirrel mount in a natural sitting position. Students will learn everything involved in producing a finished mount - from initial preparation, hygiene and sanitary measures, to proper technique and dry preservation. The class will offer the option of creating a form through the age old technique of wrapping and carving a head, or using a pre-fabricated head and sculpting a body. There will also be a carcass casting demo, and explanation of how foam mannikins are made. The use of anatomical study, reference photos, and detailed observation will also be reviewed as important tools in recreating the natural poses and expressions that magically reanimate a specimen. A selection of naturalistic and anthropomorphic props will be provided, however, students are welcome to bring their own bases and accessories if something specific is desired. All other supplies will be provided for use in class.
Each student will leave class with a fully finished piece, and the knowledge to create their own pieces in the future.
More info here.
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'A Cloud of Unnameable Feeling': The Imp of the Perverse and the Power of Negative Thinking: Illustrated lecture and book signing with Oliver Burkeman, writer for The Guardian and author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking
Date: Thursday, January 23
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)
***Books will be available for sale and signing
In Edgar Allen Poe's story of the same name, the imp of the perverse is the overpowering urge to do exactly the wrong thing in any given situation: to throw yourself from the precipice – or just to spill the red wine on the carpet, or to procrastinate on a crucial project – solely because you shouldn't. It's one example of what modern psychologists call "ironic effects", which sabotage us in all sorts of ways, from habit change to climate change, and which help explain why happiness seems to elude us the harder we try to attain it. This talk by Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking, will explore the fascinating world of ironic effects research, the absurdities of the positive thinking movement, and the history of efforts to defeat the imp – via a "negative path" to happiness that involves embracing pessimism, uncertainty, insecurity and failure instead.
More info here.
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Bunny/Jackelope Taxidermy Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Saturday, January 25th
Time: 12 – 6 PM
Admission: $300
***Tickets must be pre-purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/536313
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
*** Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space) , 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue ), 11215 Brooklyn , NY
Subway: 4th Av - 9th Street (R - F - G)
This class will introduce students to the process and techniques behind more advanced basic small mammal taxidermy. Students will learn how to skin, prep, preserve, mount, and position the animal. Attention will be focused on how to properly split, turn, and position rabbit ears. Basic armatures will be used and custom made forms (made by me) will be provided. Students will learn how to make a custom body for their specimens using an old traditional taxidermy technique of wrapping a body. Using the carcass for reference, students will learn how to build up and craft the bodies. Students encouraged to bring in any props they may want to dress the animal up in. I will provide all specimens, materials, and tools for the class. Each student will leave with his or her own finished mount.
More info here.
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The Dark Arts in the Dark Ages: An Illustrated Lecture By Dr. Elly Truitt, Bryn Mawr College
Date: Thursday, January 30
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)
The pages of medieval history teem with sorcerers, soothsayers, and necromancers who used their knowledge to foretell the future, uncover lost treasure, and create animated statues. In tonight's lecture, historian Elly R. Truitt will discuss legendary figures from medieval history, including Gerbert of Aurillac, Gerard of York, and Albertus Magnus, in order to examine the scientific theories foundational to divination, as well as natural and demonic magic. Discover the scientific sophistication of the so-called "Dark Ages."
Image: Pope Sylvester II and the Devil. Cod. Pal. germ. 137, Folio 216v Martinus Oppaviensis, Chronicon pontificum et imperatorum. c1460.
More info here.
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Special Valentine's Day Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop with Former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
Date: Saturday, February 1
Time: 1 – 4 PM
Admission: $75
***Must buy ticket at http://morbidanatomy.bigcartel.com/product/anthropomorphic-insect-shadowbox-workshop-special-valentines-day-edition-with-daisy-tainton
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
**Offsite*** Morbid Anatomy Museum ( New Location ) : 424A 3rd Ave
Corner of 7th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Today, join former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton for a special Valentine's Day edition of Morbid Anatomy's popular Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop.
More info here.
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The Victorian Art of Hair Jewelry : Workshop with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Saturday, February 8
Time: 1 – 5 PM
Admission: $75
***Tickets must be pre-purchased here
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
*** Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space) , 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue ), 11215 Brooklyn , NY
Subway: 4th Av - 9th Street (R - F - G)
Hair jewelry was an enormously popular form of commemorative art that began in the late 17th century and reached its zenith during the Victorian Era. Hair, either of someone living or deceased, was encased in metal lockers or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class will explore a modern take on the genre.
More info here.
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Frederik and Rachel Ruysch Inspired Wet Specimen Workshop with Moles with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Sunday, February 9
Time: 12 – 6 PM
Admission: $130 Valentine's Day Special : buy two ticket for you and your date for $250 ! ( Send an email to morbidanatomylibrary@gmail.com, Get your $10 refund the day of the workshop )
Location: Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space) , 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue), 11215 Brooklyn , NY
Subway: 4th Av - 9th Street (R - F - G)
***Tickets must be pre-purchased here
This workshop takes as its departure the work of Frederik Ruysch (1638 - 1731), a pioneer in many of areas of research and development in anatomy, natural sciences, and of course, the preparation of wet specimen. He was also responsible for assembling one of Europe's most famous cabinets. This class will also focus on the oft overlooked collaborative efforts between F. Ruysch and his daughter Rachel. An accomplished still life painter, she helped her father adorn his specimen with dried flowers, rare seashells, interesting stones, dried fish, and handmade lace, usually of significance to the specimen being preserved. The resulting pieces were beautiful tableaux of nature, art, and science.
More info here.
_______________________________________________Women Who Bite: Chastity Belts, Castration Anxiety and Feminism: Illustrated lecture with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Date: Tuesday, February 11
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)
Humankind's earliest cultures were matriarchal in nature. The advent of agrarian civilization witnessed women’s power gradually devalued by a growing patriarchy. Both Western and Eastern cultures have folklore and art history attesting to the leitmotif of the strong, fierce, and aggressively sexual woman rising against oppressive male authority. Tonight’s lecture--just in time for Valentine's Day!--will explore the myths, fables, and visual representations of the ferocious, toothed woman. Such imagery includes: chastity belts (and their development), male castration anxiety, vengeful goddesses, the femme fatale, Amazon warriors, and "vagina dentata." These subjects will be explored in all their frightening, savage, erotic and often humorous incarnations.
More info here.
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The ‘After’ Life: Death in Ancient Egypt: Illustrated lecture with Ava Forte Vitali, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: Thursday, February 13
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Part of the Death and The Occult in the Ancient World Series
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)
When one considers Death and the Occult in the Ancient World, often the first culture that comes to mind is that of the Ancient Egyptians. Known for their elaborate tombs, complicated religious texts, and captivating mummies, the Ancient Egyptian fascination with death has captivated public interest for centuries. This inaugural lecture in our new monthly series will introduce the mortuary beliefs, traditions, and archaeology of the Ancient Egyptians and examine whether or not they were as morbidly focused as they have traditionally been portrayed to be.
More info here.
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Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica: A Special Valentine's Day Event: An illustrated lecture by Colin Dickey, author of Cranioklepty and Afterlives of the Saints with drinks and music by Friese Undine
Date: Friday, February 14
Time: 8:00
Admission: $12
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)
Tonight, join writer Colin Dickey for a peek into the world of early 20th century mail-order erotica. In order to evade post office censors, smut peddlers like Panurge Press and Falstaff Press were obligated to dress up their offerings with a veneer of scientific dross, resulting in works that were too smutty to be of any real scientific or sociological value, and yet too riddled with academic nonsense to be properly erotic. A curiously forgotten and nearly nonsensical sub-genre, these books exist in between the finely-drawn lines of obscenity and free speech, pornography and literature, and titillation and scientific inquiry. Colin will share the history of these odd publishers and choice examples from his library, including works like White Meat, Praeputii Incisio, Black Opium, The Sword and Womankind, and An Anthropological Cabinet of Curiosities. Come for the lecture, and stay for delicious artisinal cocktails and thematic tunes courtesy of Friese Undine.
More info here.
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Selfies At Funerals: Postmortem Photography and Cultural Taboos: An Illustrated Lecture By Halli Gomberg
Date: Thursday, February 20
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)
Is the phenomenon of “Selfies At Funerals” a new manifestation of social media narcissism, or the last in a long line of older post mortem cultural practices? This talk will explore the complex attitudes towards death and photography over the course of American history, fom its precursors in painted deathbed portraiture, through Victorian postmortem and medical school dissection photographs and into newly emerging technologies. We will examine how society deals with our private and public mourning rituals, and why postmortem remembrance imagery can still be a cultural taboo.
More info here.
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Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Sunday, February 23
Time: 12:00pm - 5pm
Admission: $110
***Tickets must be pre-ordered here
Location: Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space) , 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue ), 11215 Brooklyn , NY
Subway: 4th Av - 9th Street (R - F - G)
Anthropomorphic taxidermy--a practice in which taxidermied animals are posed as if engaged in human activities--was an artform made famous by Victorian taxidermist and museologist Walter Potter. In this class, as profiled by the New York Times, students will learn to create--from start to finish--anthropomorphic mice inspired by the charming and imaginative work of Mr. Potter. Your final project might take the form of a bespectacled, whiskey swilling, top hat tipping mouse; or perhaps a rodent mermaid queen of the burlesque world? With some props and some artful styling, your mouse can become whatever or whomever you want; this is the joy of anthropomorphic taxidermy.
More info here.
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Death in a Nutshell: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: Illustrated lecture with Bruce Goldfarb, executive assistant to the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland
Date: Thursday, February 27
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevin, Brooklyn; enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery)
The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is an extraordinary collection of miniature dioramic death scenes, hand-crafted in the 1940s in obsessive detail by Frances Glessner Lee. They were -- and still are -- used to train police in the methods of forensic death investigation. Lee, a wealthy socialite with no formal education who in middle age was commissioned by the New Hampshire State Police, is considered the mother of modern, scientific death investigation; she is also said to be the inspiration for the character of Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. Ttonight's illustrated lecture will tell the fascinating story of Frances Glessner Lee and her Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. Later, on Saturday, March 29th, join Morbid Anatomy for a special field trip to Baltimore featuring a tour of The Nutshells and the forensic facilities by Mr. Goldfarb. Visits to additional "Charm City" highlights will be organized with the help of our guide, rogue taxidermist and "angelic boyfriend" Robert Marbury." Email morbidanatomylibrary [at] gmail.com to be put on the list for more information as it becomes available.
More info here.
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More info here.Melanistic Pheasant Taxidermy Class-Intermediate level class with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Saturday, March 8
Time: 1 pm - 5pm
Admission: $435
Location: Offsite: Morbid Anatomy Museum (New Space), 424 A 3rd Avenue ( Corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue), 11215 Brooklyn , NY
Subway: 4th Av - 9th Street (R - F - G)
Limited class size of 3 people
***Tickets must be pre-ordered here
In this exclusive intermediate level workshop, we learn about the melanistic pheasant and classic bird taxidermy. These large, beautiful birds are a mutation of the common pheasant, first observed in the 1800s, and bred as a mutation in the 1920's/30's. Known for their unique coloration, exquisitely patterned feathers and iridescent green/black/purple plumage, these are very special birds!
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Full list and more information on all events can be found here. More on the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy can be found here.
Images top to bottom:
Images top to bottom:
- Der Tanz der Salome, Leopold Schmutzler
- “Aberrations, Perversions, Transvestitism, Fetishism, Flagellation; Secret Sex Clubs in Paris, Berlin, etc.”; Page from “A Private Anthropological Cabinet of 500 Authentic Racial-Esoteric Photographs and Illustrations…” Privately issued by Falstaff Press, Inc. From the Morbid Anatomy Library collections.
- Frances Glessner Lee working on one of her Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
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