Morbid Anatomy is very pleased to announce a number of workshops, lectures and parties taking place over the next few months in Brooklyn and London!
First up is our popular Bat in Glass Dome workshop class this Sunday, April 21 in which "students will learn how to create an osteological
preparation of a bat in the fashion of 19th century zoological displays" and leave with a beautiful finished piece of their very own much like the once pictured above. This class still has a just a few more open slots; if interested, please email
Laetitia [at] atlasobscura.com to RSVP.
In the following weeks, we will also be offering classes in taxidermy, Victorian mourning hair
art, anthropomorphic insect shadow boxes, and Dance of Death linocuts. In addition, we will be hosting an evening of "Masonic Slapstick" investigating the work
of the DeMoulin Brothers, leading makers of Masonic and other lodge "initiation prank devices;" accompanying the illustrated lecture by the curator of the DeMoulin Museum will be a special
one-night-only exhibition of initiation devices curated
by Mike Zohn, co-star of TV's
"Oddities" (April 30). If none of this intrigues, perhaps you might enjoy a lecture/book release party for
Bess Lovejoy's Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Cadavers (April 26); or an illustrated lecture with professor
Eric G Wilson about the history and science of "morbid curiosity" (June 6); or perhaps a special London-based 2-month series of events, workshops,
special backstage tours, screenings and spectacles surveying the interstices of
art and medicine, death and culture (June 2 - July 25).
Full details for all follow. Hope to see you at one or more of these terrific events!
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Bat in Glass Dome Workshop
Part of DIY Wunderkammer Series: With Wilder Duncan (formerly of
Evolution Shop, Soho) and Laetitia Barbier, head librarian at The Morbid
Anatomy Library
Date: Sunday, April 21
Time: 1 – 6 PM
Admission: $200
In
this class, students will learn how to create an osteological
preparation of a bat in the fashion of 19th century zoological displays.
A bat skeleton, a glass dome, branches, glue, tools, and all necessary
materials will be provided for each student, but one should feel welcome
to bring small feathers, stones, dried flowers, dead insects, natural
elements, or any other materials s/he might wish to include in his/her
composition. Students will leave the class with a visually striking,
fully articulated, “lifelike” bat skeleton posed in a 10” tall glass
dome. This piece can, in conjunction with the other creations in the DIY
Wunderkammer workshop series, act as the beginning of a genuine
collection of curiosities!
This class is part of the
DIY Wunderkammer workshop series, curated by
Laetitia Barbier and
Wilder Duncan
for Morbid Anatomy as a creative and pluridisciplinary exploration of
the Curiosity Cabinet. The classes will focus on teaching ancient
methods of specimen preparation that link science with art: students
will create compositions involving natural elements and, according to
their taste, will compose a traditional Victorian environment or a
modern display. More on the series can be found
here.
Wilder Duncan
is an artist whose work puts a modern-day spin on the genre of Vanitas
still life. Although formally trained as a realist painter at Wesleyan
University, he has had a lifelong passion for, and interest in, natural
history. Self-taught rogue taxidermist and professional specimen
preparator, Wilder worked for several years at The Evolution Store
creating, repairing, and restoring objects of natural historical
interest such as taxidermy, fossils, seashells, minerals, insects,
tribal sculptures, and articulated skeletons both animal and human.
Wilder continues to do work for private collectors, giving a new life to
old mounts, and new smiles to toothless skulls.
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A Fate Worse Than Death: The Perils of Being a Famous Corpse with Bess Lovejoy, Author of Rest in Pieces
Date: Friday, April 26th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $10
Most
of us know what our afterlives are going to be like: eternity in the
ground, or resting in an urn on some relative’s mantelpiece. If we’re
lucky, our children might occasionally bring us flowers or a potted
plant, and that’s about as interesting as things are going to get.
Not
so the famous deceased. For millennia, they’ve been bought and sold,
worshipped and reviled, studied, collected, stolen, and dissected.
They’ve been the star attractions at museums and churches, and used to
found cemeteries, cities, even empires. Pieces of them have languished
in libraries and universities, in coolers inside closets, and in
suitcases underneath beds. For them, eternity has been anything but
easy.
The more notable or notorious the body, the more likely it
is that someone’s tried to disturb it. Consider the near-snatching of
Abraham Lincoln, or the attempt on Elvis’s tomb. Then there’s Descartes,
who is missing his head, and Galileo, who is spending eternity without
his middle finger. Napoleon’s missing something a bit lower, as is the
Russian mystic Rasputin, at least if the rumors are true. Meanwhile,
Jesse James has had three graves, and may not have been in any of them,
while it took a court case and an exhumation to prove that Lee Harvey
Oswald was in his.
In this illustrated lecture, Bess Lovejoy will draw on her new book,
Rest in Pieces,
to discuss the many threats faced by famous corpses--from furta sacra
("holy theft" of saintly relics), to skull-stealing phrenologists,
"Resurrection Men" digging up cadavers for medical schools, modern organ
harvesters, the depredations of crazed fans, and much more.
Rest in Pieces will also be available for sale, and wine will be served in celebration of its release.
Bess Lovejoy
is a writer, researcher, and editor based in Seattle. She writes about
dead people, forgotten history, and sometimes art, literature, and
science. Her writing has appeared in
The New York Times,
The Believer,
The Boston Globe,
The Stranger, and other publications. She worked on the Schott’s Almanac series for five years. Visit her at BessLovejoy.com.
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Masonic Slapstick - The DeMoulin Brothers and their Odd Initiate Prank Devices
An
Illustrated lecture by John Goldsmith, Curator of the DeMoulin Museum
accompanied by a one-night-only exhibition of initiation devices curated
by Mike Zohn, co-star of TV's
"Oddities"
Date: Tuesday, April 30th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Presented by
Morbid Anatomy
Between
1890 and 1930, hundreds of thousands of men belonged to the Masons, the
Elks, the Kiwanis, or another of the over one hundred lodges which
provided American men with a social outlet, a sense of importance, and
sometimes even health and life insurance. One way these many lodges
competed for members was with the use of inventive, theatrical and
unlikely gadgets used in lodge initiations.
In 1892, Ed DeMoulin, a
small town photographer who had more than a passing interest in the
gadgets of the day, founded the DeMoulin company which went on to become
one of the leading manufacturers of these lodge initiation devices. The
DeMoulin brothers (Ed, U.S. and Erastus) held patents on many of the
best known of these including "The Lifting & Spraying Machine," "The
Lung Tester," and "The Low Down Buck Goat." The DeMoulin’s motto was
“Fun in the Lodge Room” and there’s little doubt that these water
shootin’, electric shockin’, blank firin’, collapsin’ devices could do
the trick.
Who were the DeMoulin brothers? And how did they become
the zany geniuses behind these lodge initiation pranks? Tonight John
Goldsmith, curator of the DeMoulin Museum, will share their story and
demonstrate some of the devices. He’ll also provide a virtual tour of
the DeMoulin Museum. There will also be a one-night-only mini exhibit of
initiation devices curated by Mike Zohn, co-star of TV's
"Oddities."
John Goldsmith is curator of the was the
DeMoulin Museum. He was also a consultant on
Catalog 439: Burlesque Paraphernalia published by Fantagraphics in 2010 and
The Extraordinary Catalog of Peculiar Inventions
published by Perigee in 2011. The DeMoulin Museum has been featured on
KSDK’s “Show Me St. Louis” and WSEC’s “Illinois Stories”.
Mike Zohn--co-star of TV's
"Oddities" and co-owner of
Obscura Antiques--is a long term DeMoulin enthusiast and collector.
Image: "The DADDY Uv-Um ALL," parade goat by The DeMoulin Brothers.
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Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop with Former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy TaintonWith Daisy Tainton, Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History
Date: Saturday, May 11th
Time: 1 – 4 PM
Admission: $75
***Tickets MUST be pre-ordered by clicking
here
You can also pre-pay in person at the Observatory during open hours.
This class is part of
The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
Today,
join former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton for
Observatory’s popular Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop. In this
class, students will work with Rhinoceros beetles: nature’s tiny
giants. Each student will learn to make–and leave with their
own!–shadowbox dioramas featuring carefully positioned beetles doing
nearly anything you can imagine. Beetles and shadowboxes are provided,
and an assortment of miniature furniture, foods, and other props will be
available to decorate your habitat. Students need bring nothing, though
are encouraged to bring along dollhouse props if they have a particular
vision for their final piece; 1:12 scale work best.
BEETLES WILL BE PROVIDED. Each student receives one beetle approximately 2-3 inches tall when posed vertically.
Daisy Tainton was
formerly Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural
History, and has been working with insects professionally for several
years. Eventually her fascination with insects and love of Japanese
miniature food items naturally came together, resulting in cute and
ridiculous museum-inspired yet utterly unrealistic dioramas. Beetles at
the dentist? Beetles eating pie and knitting sweaters? Even beetles on
the toilet? Why not?
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Naturalistic Squirrel Taxidermy Class with Divya Anantharaman***** This is a 2 part class
Dates: Sunday, May 12 AND Sunday, May 19
Time: 12-3 PM
Admission: $250
Advance Tickets Required; Click
here to purchase
Email
divya.does.taxidermy at gmail dot com with questions or to be put on wait list
Class limit: 5
This class is part of the
Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
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 teach how to use and
modify a pre-made form to suit the nuances of each unique animal. 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 natural
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.
This class is now
split in two sessions. Each student will leave class with a
fully-finished piece, and the knowledge to create their own pieces in
the future.
Also, some technical notes:
- We use NO harsh or dangerous chemicals.
- Everyone will be provided with gloves.
- All animals are disease free.
- Although there will not be a lot of blood or gore, a strong constitution is necessary; taxidermy is not for everyone
- All animals were already dead, nothing was killed for this class.
- Please do not bring any dead animals with you to the class.
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Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Saturday, May 18
Time: 1-5 PM
Admission: $110
***Please note: This class will be held offsite at
Acme Studio : 63 N. 3rd Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Advance Tickets Required; Click
here to purchase
Email
divya.does.taxidermy at gmail dot com with questions or to be put on wait list
Class limit: 10
This class is part of the
Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
Anthropomorphic
taxidermy--in which taxidermied animals are posed into human attitudes
and poses--was an artform made famous by Victorian taxidermist and
museologist Walter Potter. In this class, students will learn to
create--from start to finish--anthropomorphic mice inspired by the
charming and imaginative work of Mr. Potter and his ilk. With the
creative use of props and some artful styling, you will find that your
mouse can take nearly whatever form you desire, from a bespectacled,
whiskey swilling, top hat tipping mouse to a rodent mermaid queen of the
burlesque world.
In this class, Divya Anantharaman--who learned her craft under the tutelage of famed Observatory instructor
Sue Jeiven--will
teach students everything involved in the production of a fully
finished mount, including initial preparation, hygiene and sanitary
measures, fleshing, tail stripping, and dry preservation. Once properly
preserved, the mice will be posed and outfitted as the student desires.
Although a broad selection of props and accessories will be provided by
the instructor, students are also strongly encouraged to bring their own
accessories and bases; all other materials will supplied. Each student
will leave class with a fully finished piece, and the knowledge to
create their own pieces in the future.
Also, some technical notes:
- We use NO harsh or dangerous chemicals.
- Everyone will be provided with gloves.
- All animals are disease free.
- Although there will not be a lot of blood or gore, a strong constitution is necessary; taxidermy is not for everyone
- All animals were already dead, nothing was killed for this class.
- Please do not bring any dead animals with you to the class.
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Dance of Death by Hans Holbein: A Linocut Workshop with Classically Trained Artist Lado Pochkua
Dates: Tuesdays May 20, May 27 and June 4
Time: 7 - 10 PM
Admission: $60
***MUST RSVP to
morbidanatomylibrary [at] gmail.com
This class is part of
The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
The
"dance of death" or "danse macabre" was a "medieval allegorical concept
of the all-conquering and equalizing power of death, expressed in the
drama, poetry, music, and visual arts of western Europe, mainly in the
late Middle Ages. It is a literary or pictorial representation of a
procession or dance of both living and dead figures, the living arranged
in order of their rank, from pope and emperor to child, clerk, and
hermit, and the dead leading them to the grave." (
Encyclopedia Britannica).
One of the best known expressions of this genre are a series of
forty-two wood cuts by Hans Holbien published in 1538 under the title
"Dance of Death."
In this class, students will learn the
techniques of woodcuts and linocuts by creating a copy of one of Hans
Holbein’s prints from the Dance of Death series. The class will follow
the entire process from beginning to end: drafting a copy of the image,
either a fragment or whole; transfer of the image to a linoleum block;
cutting the image; printing the image on paper. Students will leave
class with their own finished Dance of Death linocut and the skills to
produce their own pieces in the future.
- Lesson 1: creating a
copy of either a fragment or full image from the series on paper. The
copy can either be freehand and stylized, or students can use a grid to
copy more exactly.
- Lesson 2: transfer the drawing to linoleum.
- Lesson 3: correction of image, and beginning to cut the image.
- Lesson 4: finalizing the cut image.
- Lesson 5: Printing the image. Students will be able to use several colors and backgrounds to create the final image.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
- A block of linoleum: Blick Battleship Gray Linoleum, mounted or unmounted (details here)
OR
- Speedball Speedy-carve blocks, pink only (details here) Size: 9x12 or 8x10.
AND
- Linocutter set: Blick Lino Cutter Set (details here)Water soluble printing inks
- Printing paper
- Tracing paper
- Pencils
- Black markers (fine point)
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Lado Pochkhua
was born in Sukhumi, Georgia in 1970. He received his MFA in Painting
and Printmaking from Tbilisi State Art Academy in Georgia in 2001. He
currently divides his time between New York and Tbilisi, Georgia.
Image: Image:
“Melior est mors quam vita” to the aged woman who crawls gravewards
with her bone rosary while Death makes music in the van." From Hans
Holbein's "Dance of Death."
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Date: Sunday, June 2
Time: 12-4 PM
Admission: $75
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
lockets or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class
will explore a modern take on the genre.
The technique of "palette
working" or arranging hair in artful swoops and curls will be explored
and a variety of ribbons, beads, wire and imagery of mourning
iconography will be supplied for potential inclusion. A living or
deceased person or pet may be commemorated in this manner.
Students
are requested to bring with them to class their own hair, fur, or
feathers; all other necessary materials will be supplied. Hair can be
self-cut, sourced from barber shops or hair salons (who are usually
happy to provide you with swept up hair), from beauty supply shops (hair
is sold as extensions), or from wig suppliers. Students will leave
class with their own piece of hair jewelry and the knowledge to create
future projects.
Karen Bachmann is
a fine jeweler with over 25 years experience, including several years
on staff as a master jeweler at Tiffany and Co. She is a Professor in
the Jewelry Design Dept at Fashion Institute of Technology as well as
the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute. She has recently
completed her MA in Art History at SUNY Purchase with a thesis entitled
Hairy Secrets:... In her downtime she enjoys collecting biological
specimens, amateur taxidermy and punk rock.
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Morbid Curiosity, or Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look AwayAn Illustrated Lecture and Book Signing with author Eric G. Wilson
Date: Thursday, June 6
Time: 8:00
Admission: $5
Produced by
Morbid Anatomy
"Why
can’t we look away? Whether we admit it or not, we’re fascinated by
evil. Dark fantasies, morbid curiosities, Schadenfreude: As conventional
wisdom has it, these are the symptoms of our wicked side, and we
succumb to them at our own peril. But we’re still compelled to look
whenever we pass a grisly accident on the highway, and there’s no
slaking our thirst for gory entertainments like horror movies and police
procedurals. What makes these spectacles so irresistible? Author Eric
G. Wilson attempts to discover the source of our morbid fascinations,
drawing on the findings of biologists, sociologists, psychologists,
anthropologists, philosophers, theologians, and artists. A professor of
English with a penchant for Poe as well as a lifelong student of the
macabre, Wilson believes there’s something nourishing in darkness. He
believes that to repress death is to lose the feeling of life, and that a
closeness to death discloses our most fertile energies.
Eric G Wilson
is Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University
and author of several books that explore the power of life's darker
sides, including
Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away;
Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy; and
The Mercy of Eternity: A Memoir of Depression and Grace.
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Morbid Anatomy Presents at London's Last Tuesday Society this June and July
A series of London-based events, workshops, special tours,
screenings and spectacles surveying the interstices of art and medicine,
death and culture curated by Observatory's Morbid Anatomy
Date: June 2 - July 25
Time: Variable, but most lectures begin at 7 PM
Location: The Last Tuesday Society at 11 Mare Street, London, E8 4RP map
here) unless otherwise specified
The
series will feature Morbid Anatomy's signature mix of museum
professionals, professors, librarians, artists, rogue scholars, and
autodidacts--many flown in direct from Morbid Anatomy's base in
Brooklyn, New York--to elucidate on a wide array of topics including
(but not limited to!) The Neapolitan Cult of the Dead; "human zoos;"
"speaking reliquaries;" why music drives women mad; eccentric folk
medicine collections; Santa Muerte (or "Saint Death); dissection and
masturbation; dissection and
magic; Victorian memorial hair
jewelry; the "hot nurse" in popular fiction; The Danse Macabre; "a
cinematic survey of The Vampires of London;" and anatomical waxworks and
death.
There will be also two special backstage tours: one of the
legendary Blythe House, home of the vast and incredible collection of
Henry Wellcome and the other of the Natural History Museum's zoological
collection, featuring the famously gorgeous Blaschka invertebrate glass
model collection; a special magic lantern show featuring "the weirdest,
most inappropriate and completely baffling examples of lantern imagery"
conjured by collector and scholar Professor Heard
, author of
Phantasmagoria- The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern;
a screening of rare short films from the BFI National Archive
documenting folk music, dance, customs and sport; and workshops in the
creation of Victorian hair work, lifelike wax wounds, and bat skeletons
in glass domes.
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Wax Wound Workshop with medical artist Eleanor Crook
Sunday, June 2, 2013 at 1:00 - 5:00 PM
More here
Let
acclaimed sculptor Eleanor Crook guide you in creating your very own
wax wound. Crook has lent her experience to professionals ranging from
forensic law enforcement officers to plastic surgeons, so is well placed
to help you make a horrendously lifelike scar, boil or blister.
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Art, Wax, Death and Anatomy : Illustrated lecture with art historian Roberta Ballestriero
Monday, June 3, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Wax
modelling, or ceroplastics, is of ancient origin but was revived in
14th century Italy with the cult of Catholic votive objects, or ex
votos. Art Historian Roberta Ballestriero will discuss the art and
history of wax modeling sacred and profane; she will also showcase many
of its greatest masterworks.
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Music
Driving Women Mad: The History of Medical Fears of its Effects on
Female Bodies and Minds: Illustrated lecture with Dr. James Kennaway
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Over
the past few centuries, countless physicians and writers have asserted
that music could cause very serious medical problems for the 'weaker
sex'. Not only could it bring on symptoms of nervousness and hysteria,
it could also cause infertility, nymphomania and even something called
'melosexualism'. This talk will give an outline of this strange debate,
using the raciest stories to be found in gynaecological textb
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Solitary vice? Sex and Dissection in Georgian London With Dr Simon Chaplin
Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
In
this lavishly illustrated lecture, Simon Chaplin explores the sexual
undertones of the anatomy schools of Georgian London, in which students
dissected grave-robbed bodies in the back-rooms of their teachers'
houses, while their masters explored new strategies for presenting their
work to polite audiences through museums and lectures.
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Heartthrobs
of the Human Zoo: Ethnographic Exhibitions and Captive Celebrities of
Turn of the Century America: An Illustrated Lecture with Betsy Bradley
Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
From
ransomed Congolese pygmies to winsome Eskimo babies, the American
world's fairs and patriotic expositions present history with a number
of troubling ethnographic celebrities, and their stories offer a rare
glimpse inside the psychology and culture of imperial America at the
turn of a new century.
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The
Astounding Collection of Henry Wellcome: Blythe House Backstage Tour
with Selina Hurley, Assistant Curator of Medicine, The Science Museum
Friday, June 7, 2013 at 3:00pm
More here
Henry
Wellcome (1853 - 1936)----early pharmaceutical magnate and man behind
the Wellcome Trust, Collection, and Library--was the William Randolph
Hearst of the medical collecting world. That collection, possibly the
finest medical collection in the world, now resides in Blythe House,
kept in trust by The Science Museum on permanent loan from the Wellcome
Trust. Today, a lucky fifteen people will get a rare chance to see this
collection, featuring many artifacts of which have never before been on
public view, in this backstage tour led Selina Hurley, Assistant Curator
of Medicine at The Science Museum.
____________________
Neapolitan Cult of the Dead with Chiara Ambrosio
Monday, June 10, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
In
tonight's illustrated lecture, Italian artist and filmmaker Chiara
Ambrosio will elucidate this curious and fascinating "Neapolitan Cult of
the Dead" and situate it within a the rich death culture and storied
history of Naples.
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A Vile Vaudeville of Gothic Attractions: Illustrated lecture by Mervyn Heard, author of Phantasmagoria- The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
An
illustrated talk in which writer and showman 'Professor' Mervyn Heard
waxes scattergun- sentimental over some of the more bizarre, live
theatrical experiences of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century - from
the various ghastly manifestations of the phantasmagoria to performing
hangmen, self-crucifiers and starving brides.
____________________
Professor Heard's Most Extraordinary Magic Lantern Show with Mervyn Heard
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Professor
Heard is well known to patrons of the Last Tuesday Lecture programme
for his sell-out magic lantern entertainments. In this latest assault on
the eye he summons up some of the weirdest, most inappropriate and
completely baffling examples of lantern imagery, lantern stories and
optical effects by special request of Morbid Anatomy.
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"Speaking Reliquaries" and Christian Death Rituals: Part One of "Hairy Secrets" Series With Karen Bachmann
Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
3-part
series on human relics and Victorian mourning jewelry--master jeweler
and art historian Karen Bachmann will focus on what are termed
"speaking" reliquaries: the often elaborate containers which house the
preserved body parts--or relics--of saints and martyrs with shapes which
reflect that of the body-part contained within.
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Hair Art Workshop Class: The Victorian Art of Hair Jewellery With Karen Bachmann
Friday, June 14, 2013 at 1:00pm
More here
Hair
jewellery 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.
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The
History of the Memento Mori and Death's Head Iconography: Part Two of
"Hairy Secrets" Series Illustrated lecture with Art Historian and Master
Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Friday, June 14, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
In
tonight's lecture--the second in a 3-part series on human relics and
Victorian mourning jewelry--master jeweler and art historian Karen
Bachmann will explore the development of the memento mori,objects whose
very raison d'être is to remind the beholder that they, too, will die.
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Hair Art Workshop Class: The Victorian Art of Hair Jewellery With Karen Bachmann
Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 1:00pm (More here)
Sunday, June 16, 2013 at 1:00pm (More here)
Hair
jewellery 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.
____________________
The
Victorian Love Affair with Death and the Art of Mourning Hair Jewelry:
Illustrated lecture with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Monday, June 17, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
The
Victorians had a love affair with death which they expressed in a
variety of ways, both intensely sentimental and macabre. Tonight's
lecture-the last in a 3-part series on human relics and Victorian
mourning jewelry-will take as its focus the apex of the phenomenon of
hair jewelry fashion in the Victorian Era as an expression of this
passion.
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Dissection and Magic with Constanza Isaza Martinez
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
This
lecture examines images of human corpses in Early Modern European art
in relation to two specific themes: the practice of 'witchcraft' or
'magic'; and the emergent medical profession, particularly anatomical
dissection.
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Future
Death. Future Dead Bodies. Future Cemeteries Illustrated lecture by Dr.
John Troyer, Deputy Director of the Centre for Death and Society at the
University of Bath
Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Dr.
John Troyer, from the Centre for Death & Society, University of
Bath, will discuss three kinds of postmortem futures: Future Death,
Future Dead Bodies, and Future Cemeteries. Central to these Futures is
the human corpse and its use in new forms of body disposal technology,
digital technology platforms, and definitions of death.
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‘She Healed Their Bodies With
Her White Hot Passions’: The Role of the Nurse in Romantic Fiction with
Natasha McEnroe Illustrated lecture Natasha McEnroe, Director of the
Florence Nightingale Museum
Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 7:00pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/478987722156193/
Victorian
portrayals of the nurse show either a drunken and dishonest old woman
or an angelic and devoted being, which changes to a 20th-century
caricature just as pervasive - that of the 'sexy nurse'. In this talk,
Natasha McEnroe will explore the links between the enforced intimacy of
the sickroom and the handling of bodies for more recreational reasons.
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Face
lift or face reconstruction? Redesigning the Museum Vrolik, Amsterdam's
anatomical museum An illustrated lecture with Dr. Laurens de Rooy,
curator of the Museum Vrolik in Amsterdam
Monday, June 24, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Counting
more than five thousand preparations and specimens, the Museum
Vrolikianum, the private collection of father Gerard and his son Willem
Vrolik was an amazing object of interest one hundred and fifty years
ago. In the 1840s and 50s this museum, established in Gerard's stately
mansion on the river Amstel, grew into a famous collection that
attracted admiring scientists from both the Netherlands and abroad. In
this talk, Museum Vrolik curator Dr Laurens de Rooy will take you on a
guided tour of the new museum, and give an overview of all the other
aspects of the 'new' Museum Vrolik.
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The Walking Dead in 1803: An Illustrated Lecture with Phil Loring, Curator of Psychology at the Science Museum in London
Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
A
visiting Italian startled Londoners at the turn of the 19th century by
making decapitated animals and executed men open their eyes and move
around, as if on the verge of being restored to life. This was not magic
but the power of electricity from the newly invented Galvanic trough,
or battery. This talk will discuss a variety of historical instruments
from the Science Museum's collections that figured in these re-animation
experiments, including the apparatus used by Galvani himself in his
laboratory in Bologna.
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The Influencing Machine: James Tilly Matthews and the Air Loom with Mike Jay
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Confined
in Bedlam in 1797 as an incurable lunatic, James Tilly Matthews' case
is one of the most bizarre in the annals of psychiatry. He was the first
person to insist that his mind was being controlled by a machine: the
Air Loom, a terrifying secret weapon whose mesmeric rays and mysterious
gases were brainwashing politicians and plunging Europe into revolution,
terror and war. But Matthews' case was even stranger than his doctors
realised: many of the incredible conspiracies in which he claimed to be
involved were entirely real.
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A
Waxen France: Madame Tussaud’s Representations of the French:
Illustrated Lecture by Pamela Pilbeam Emeritus Professor of French
History, Royal Holloway, University of London and author of Madame Tussaud and the History of Waxworks
Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Madame
Tussaud's presentation of French politics and history did much to
inform and influence the popular perception of France among the British.
This lecture will explore that view and how it changed during the
nineteenth century.
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Backstage Tour of the Zoological Collection of the Natural History Museum with Miranda Lowe
Friday, June 28, 2013 at 3:00pm
More here
Today,
ten lucky people will get to join Miranda Lowe, Collections Manager of
the Aquatic Invertebrates Division, for a special backstage tour of The
Natural History Museum of London. The tour will showcase the zoological
spirit collections in the Darwin Centre, some of Darwin's barnacles and
the famed collection of glass marine invertebrate models crafted by
Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the 19th and early 20th century.
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Bat
in Glass Dome Workshop: Part of DIY Wunderkammer Series With Wilder
Duncan (formerly of Evolution Store, Soho) and Laetitia Barbier, head
librarian at The Morbid Anatomy Library
Saturday, June 29, 2013 at 1:00pm (more here)
Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 1:00pm (more here)
In
this class, students will learn how to create an osteological
preparation of a bat in the fashion of 19th century zoological displays.
A bat skeleton, a glass dome, branches, glue, tools, and all necessary
materials will be provided for each student. The classes will focus on
teaching ancient methods of specimen preparation that link science with
art: students will create compositions involving natural elements and,
according to their taste, will compose a traditional Victorian
environment or a modern display.
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The
Coming of Age of the Danse Macabre on the Verge of the Industrial Age
with Alexander L. Bieri Illustrated lecture with Alexander L. Bieri
Tuesday, July 9, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
The
lecture not only discusses Schellenberg's danse macabre in detail, but
also gives an insight into the current fascination with vanitas and its
depictions, especially focusing on the artistic exploitation of the
theme and takes into consideration the history of anatomical dissection
and preparation.
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"Viva la Muerte: The Mushrooming Cult of Saint Death" Illustrated lecture and book signing with Andrew Chesnut
Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
The
worship of Santa Muerte, a psuedo Catholic saint which takes the form
of a personified and clothed lady death, is on the rise and increasingly
controversial in Mexico and the United States. Literally translating to
"Holy Death" or "Saint Death," the worship of Santa Muerte-like Day of
the Dead-is a popular form of religious expression rooted in a rich
syncretism of the beliefs of the native Latin Americans and the
colonizing Spanish Catholics.
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From
Blue Beads to Hair Sandwiches: Edward Lovett and London's Folk
Medicine: An Illustrated lecture with Ross MacFarlane, Research
Engagement Officer in the Wellcome Library
Monday, July 15, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
During
his life Edward Lovett (1852-1933) amassed one of the largest
collections of objects pertaining to 'folk medicine' in the British
Isles. Lovett particularly focused his attention on objects derived
from contemporary, working class Londoners, believing that the amulets,
charms and mascots he collected - and which were still being used in
20th century London - were 'survivals' of antiquated, rural practices.
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The Vampires of London: A Cinematic Survey with William Fowler (BFI) and Mark Pilkington (Strange Attractor)
Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
This
heavily illustrated presentation and film clip selection explores
London's Highgate Cemetery as a locus of horror in the 1960s and 1970s
cinema, from mondo and exploitation to classic Hammer horror.
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"Here's
a Health to the Barley Mow: a Century of Folk Customs and Ancient Rural
Games" Screenings of Short Films from the BFI Folk Film Archives with
William Fowler
Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
Tonight,
the British Film Institute's William Fowler will present a number of
rare and beautiful short films from the BFI National Archive and
Regional Film Archives showing some of our rich traditions of folk
music, dance, customs and sport. Highlights include the alcoholic folk
musical Here's a Health to the Barley Mow (1955), Doc Rowe's speedy
sword dancing film and the Padstow Mayday celebration Oss Oss Wee Oss
(Alan Lomax/Peter Kennedy 1953).
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Of
Satyrs, Horses and Camels: Natural History in the Imaginative Mode:
illustrated lecture by Daniel Margócsy, Hunter College, New York
Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here
From
its beginnings, science was (and still is) an imaginative and
speculative enterprise, just like the arts. This talk traces the
exchange of visual information between the major artists of the
Renaissance and the leading natural historians of the scientific
revolution. It shows how painters' and printmakers' fictitious images of
unicorns, camels and monkfish came to populate the botanical and
zoological encyclopedias of early modern Europe.
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You can find out more about all events
here.
