Anatomical Tattoo Call for Works

Do you have an anatomical themed tattoo, or do you create your own? If so, might you be interested in being part of a new book? In that case, please read the call for submissions below from our artist and anatomist Emily Evans; she can be contacted at contact [at] anatomyboutiquebooks [dot] com.

We are looking for examples of anatomy related tattoos to include in our latest publication.

If you are an artist who has created an anatomical tattoo and would like to see your work published or if you have an anatomical tattoo yourself, we would love to hear from you!

• Skull and Skeleton
• Muscles
• Human hearts
• Organs
• Cyber anatomy
• Torn / sutured

Also, if you are based in the UK and interested in getting an anatomical tattoo for free or reduced rate for use as a possible cover image, send an email to the same address, contact [at] anatomyboutiquebooks [dot] com.

NEW EXHIBITION: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Visions of the Afterlife in the Catholic Tradition

Shrine to the Souls in Purgatory, Basilica of Saints Justus and Pastor, Barcelona, 19th century, Photo by Joanna Ebenstein, 2013

EXHIBITION: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Visions of the Afterlife in the Catholic Tradition
April 20 – June 30, 2018
Opening Party: Friday April 26 (more below, tickets here)
Featuring paintings, prints, sculpture and material culture from the 17th century to the present, including artworks by Mark Dion, Phyllis Galembo, José Guadalupe Posada, Jacques Callot, Shannon Taggart and from the collections of Stephen Romano Gallery, Evan Michelson, Eva Aridjis and Eye's Gallery and much more! 

In the Catholic worldview, when the body dies, the soul of the deceased is sent to a location in the afterlife to await the final judgment, at which point it will be reunited with the resurrected body. The souls of the unrepentant who have perpetrated the gravest sins are sent to hell, while the most stainless—saints who were martyred for their faith—are delivered straight to heaven. The majority of people, however, are sent to a place called purgatory. In this liminal space—a sort of temporary hell—souls are purged of their sins until they have attained the purity necessary to enter heaven and reside with God.

The idea of purgatory is a contentious one. Originally developed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, it rose to popularity in the fourteenth century in response to the mass deaths wrought by the Black Plague. Disagreements about purgatory contributed directly to the birth of Protestantism. One of Martin Luther’s major points of contention in his Ninety-Five Theses of 1517 was the Church’s use of indulgences—papal grants promising to shorten or cancel a person’s time in purgatory. Once sold as ubiquitously as lottery tickets, profits were used to fund various projects including the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Since that time, the popularity of purgatory has gone in and out of fashion. Today, it is visible only in rare bastions of belief, such as Naples, Italy, and parts of Latin America. The concepts of heaven and hell, however, continue to thrive in the Catholic ethos.

This exhibition explores Catholic visions of heaven, hell, and purgatory —via art, artifacts, and material culture drawn from The Green-Wood Historic Fund Collections and the greater Morbid Anatomy community—, tracing how they have manifested in various places and shifted and changed over time.

“Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Visions of the Afterlife in the Catholic Tradition” and the Morbid Anatomy Library are free and open to the public at the Fort Hamilton Gatehouse on Saturdays and Sundays, 12 –5 PM, from April 20 to June 30. To visit outside of these hours, email events@green-wood.com.

The Gatehouse is located at Fort Hamilton Parkway and Micieli Place, easily accessible on the F and G trains at Fort Hamilton Station. The exhibition and library space are not handicap accessible. Click here for our inclement weather policy.

ENVISIONING THE AFTERLIFE: HEAVEN, HELL AND PURGATORY, EXHIBITION OPENING AND CEMETERY GARDEN PARTY
Friday, April 26, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Tickets here

Join us for a special after-hours garden party to celebrate the return of spring and the opening of Morbid Anatomy’s new exhibition, Envisioning the Afterlife: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.

Enjoy music curated by Friese Undine and complimentary refreshments while taking in the enchanting atmosphere. There will also be a special tour of the newly curated Morbid Anatomy Library by its creators, Joanna Ebenstein and Laetitia Barbier, as well as an opportunity to meet the artists, collectors, and contributors to the exhibition.

PLEASE NOTE: This event takes place at the Fort Hamilton Gatehouse NOT the main entrance of Green-Wood. The Gatehouse is located at Fort Hamilton Parkway and Micieli Place, easily accessible on the F and G trains at Fort Hamilton Station. The exhibition and library space are not handicapped accessible.

Tickets are $15 / $10 for members of Green-Wood and the Morbid Anatomy Patreon.

Join Us as a Docent at the Morbid Anatomy Museum!

Interested in being a part of the Morbid Anatomy Museum? If not, why not consider becoming a volunteer docent? 

Although this is an unpaid position, being a museum docent is an excellent addition to your resume, and the museum is happy to provide references for regular docents. Shifts run from 11:45-6:00 all days except Tuesdays, and there is no minimum requirement. 

Volunteer docents also receive special perks:

• Free admission to museum exclusive opening parties 
• An atmospheric, quiet place to work with free wifi and unlimited access to the Morbid Anatomy Library collection of books and artifacts
• One free event (under $10) for each shift worked
• $20 off book purchases in the gift store for every five shifts you work, per exhibition
• Preview of upcoming exhibitions for docent training
• Docent party for each exhibit in which you volunteer three or more times

If you are interested in becoming a docent or finding out more, please e-mail our new docent coordinator at cristina [at] morbidanatomymuseum [dot] org. Either way, hope to see you around the museum soon!

Photo from our new Morbid Anatomy Museum installation.

Help us Bring Victorian Taxidermist Walter Potter’s 1890s Kittens' Wedding to New York!

Greetings! This is a letter from Joanna Ebenstein, co-founder and creative director of the Morbid Anatomy Museum.

Some of you might recall a book I authored a few years ago with Dr Pat Morris called Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy. While working the book, I was lucky enough to see and photograph many of famous tableaux of eccentric Victorian taxidermist Walter Potter, which had been divided at auction about 10 years ago before.

One of his most iconic pieces, The Kittens' Wedding (see above) has entered our community of collectors. Its new owner, Mrs. Sabrina N. Hansen, has very generously agreed to allow us to exhibit it, so long as we can pay for safe and professional transportation and insurance.

We have just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to do so, on which more here. We have made available lots of perks, including custom limited-edition Potter photos and postcards of photos from my own collection; tickets to the exhibit and opening party; downloads of Filmmaker in Residence Ronni Thomas' award winning Potter documentary The Man Who Married Kittens; AND most excitingly, tours of the homes of private homes of collectors of Potteralia around the world where you can see pieces in their native habitat!

Following is information on some of the collectors who have kindly agreed to open their homes. Again, you can find out more here. Thanks for considering lending your support to this project!

The Home Collection of Dr Pat Morris, co-author of Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy , who holds the argest collection of Potter pieces and ephemera including The Death and Burial of Cock Robin, A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed, an eight legged kitten, and Potter’s pet cat and dog.



The home of collection of Errol Fuller (author of Voodoo Salon) featuring Walter Potter’s Athletic Toads, his only mechanized tableau; Fencing mice with mole undertakers by Hermann Plouquet (above; circa 1850); a passenger pigeon; and, in his worlds, a Charles Waterton Saki Monkey "deformed to look like a little hairy man" (circa 1825).


The home of John Whitenight (author of Under Glass: A Victorian Obsession) and Fred LaValley, containing a collection of extraordinary 19th century taxidermy including Potters Monkey and Goat, along with rare French automatons (one that smokes a cigarette!), plus period rooms containing an array of Victorian furniture and decorative objects all of which are contained in a circa 1865 Philadelphia townhouse.


The home collection of Carol Holzer's collection, featuring Walter Potter’s two-faced kitten, a taxidermied lion, and many more pieces of taxidermy and assorted curiosities.

Find out more here.

Seeking Walter Potter's Kitten Tea and Croquet Party!

Do any Morbid Anatomy readers happen to know the new whereabouts of this most wonderful piece of late 19th century taxidermy, Walter Potter's Kittens’ Tea and Croquet Party?

Any leads suggested; Please send to joanna [at] morbidanatomymuseum [dot] org!

Flying Saucers and Hidden Worlds: A Brief History of Extraterrestrial Pulp: Guest Post by Jack Womack

Next Thursday, July 7th, we hope you'll join us for a night of extraterrestrial pulp with author and journalist Mark Jacobson as he welcomes world's greatest collector of flying saucer memorabilia Jack Womack. Womack's collection stretches back to the original 1947 sighting by Kenneth Arnold and continues through the paperback heyday of the 1950's and 60's. Kept on file at Georgetown University, it has been compiled into the forthcoming book Flying Saucers Are Real! featuring an introduction by Science Fiction immortal William Gibson.

Following is a guest post by Jack Womack, which will provide a foretaste of the evening's festivities. The above images are also sourced from his collection. Hope to see you there!

In the past seventy years we saw an enormous increase worldwide of the fear of government, the fear of science, and the fear of experts, for multiple reasons. As is now clear, one of the most effective means of initially spreading such paranoia worldwide, and especially in the United States, turned out to be by flying saucer.

Two men--one by pure happenstance, the other by pure deliberation--brought flying saucers into the world as we know them today. In 1943 Richard Shaver, a welder by trade, sent a 10,000 word rant entitled "A Warning to Future Man" to Ray Palmer, editor of the pulp magazine *Amazing Stories*, and the paterfamilias of much that is 20th century woo-woo.

Shaver's narrative told of the Dero, who are survivors of the Old Ones who used to inhabit earth -- the Dero live inside the earth, understand -- and who are responsible for all bad things that happen, everywhere. The Dero are also prone to kidnapping surface women when they press the wrong button on elevators, or go into the wrong subway tunnel afterward subjecting them to unimaginable horrors. Palmer, naturally, immediately rewrote it into a story, "I Remember Lemuris" that he naturally presented as non-fiction. The response was enormous, and sales of the magazine shot up even as science fiction fans complained bitterly that such nonsense was being published as non-fiction.

Later, Shaver told Palmer that he knew of the Dero because he had heard the screams through his welding machine.

Palmer's experience with what came to be known as the Shaver Mystery prepared him to be ready to move when, on June 24, 1947, Kenneth Arnold--a pilot in Washington state--reported seeing nine silver discs flying over the Cascades. He told reporters on the ground when he landed. By June 26, the phrase "flying saucers" was being used worldwide.

Palmer, seeing a new opportunity, moved quickly. While he stayed in touch with Shaver over the years, he refocused on Things in the Sky: and the result was not unlike the appearance of a Celestial Elvis.

Mark and I will be talking about these two characters, without whom we would not have had the X-Files--nor, possibly, some branches of the militia. I'll be drawing upon the information and illustrations on my forthcoming book Flying Saucers Are Real! as we reexamine the beginnings of a belief which, in unexpected ways and unexpected places, wound up in some ways, as was warned, conquering the world.

Limited Time Offer: Signed Copies of "The Anatomical Venus" with Special Limited Edition Photo by The Author!

For a limited time: get a copy of the new Morbid Anatomy book The Anatomical Venus--described by The Telegraph as "wonderful and epically illustrated; by Publisher's Weekly as "The Strangest Book of 2016... seductive and confounding" and by The Huffington Post as "enchanting and repulsive"--signed by the author, creative director and Museum co-founder Joanna Ebenstein. This special, signed edition will also include a signed, limited edition photo of the ecstatic wax reliquary effigy of Saint Vittoria in Rome, inset with real human teeth and housing her finger bones. 

Find out more--and order a copy of your own!--here. US Orders Only!

World Making through Personal Symbols: New Class by Rebecca Purcell (Co-creator of ABC Home) with ARAS Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism at the C.G. Jung Center of New York

We are beyond delighted to announce a new class on art and symbolism class taught by Rebecca Purcell (artist and co-creator of the iconic ABC Home) in tandem with our friends at ARAS Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism at the C.G. Jung Center of New York. Entitled World Making Through Personal Symbols, the class will take place over four nights (June 20-23, from 7 pm to 9 pm) and admission is $75 including materials. Tickets can be found here.

In this class, students will explore the history of symbols from several perspectives, learn to utilize the power of symbols in their life and work, and leave class with a finished object, a talisman like these:

 

 

To create their work, students will draw on the vast resources of  ARAS Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) at the C.G. Jung Center of New York, a pictorial and written archive of mythological, ritualistic, and symbolic images from all over the world and from all epochs of human history.

Under the guidance of the instructor, through research of images and texts from the ARAS archive, class discussion, and a lecture by Ami Ronnberg--ARAS curator and editor of the Taschen's Book of Symbols--students will explore the history of thier own, personally, significant symbols and their relation to both the Jungian notion of archetypes and the collective unconscious, as well as Purcell's individual research exploring symbols in relation to the creative process. Students will leave with a broadened view of the significance of symbols, and how to harness and utilize symbols in their life and work. The final project will be the transformation of a personal symbol into a small, physical talisman/amulet, to serve as a reminder of ones character/values and as a confirmation of one's inner/subconscious world.

Tickets can be purchased here. Hope to see you there!

The History of Medieval Automata With Dr Elly Truitt, Bryn Mawr College, Next Thursday June 16th

Lancelot, in metal armor, fights two copper knights, at an enchanted castle, in the 13th century prose romance Lancelot of the Lake. (Image: Lancelot do lac, France, ca. 1470. Paris, BnF, MS. Fr. 112.)

Next Thursday, June 16th, we are deeply excited to be hosting Elly Truitt of Bryn Mawr for an illustrated lecture to celebrate the release of her book Medieval Robots: Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art. (Tickets here). As she explains:

Centuries before Asimovs Three Laws of Robotics, before Fritz Lang's Metropolis or Çapeks Rossum's Universal Robots, before Vaucanson's digesting duck, people imagined, designed, built, and pondered the possibilities and pitfalls of creating artificial people, animals, and other natural objects. Medieval robots are the hidden past of our robotic present, and they were ubiquitous in medieval culture. They appear throughout the Middle Ages and were used to embody complex ideas about the natural world and the heavens, including belief in demons and knowledge of mechanical engineering.

Following are some images from her talk that Dr Truitt was kind enough to send along;  Hope very much to see you there! Tickets can be purchased here.

A mechanical wine-servant, designed by the Kurdish engineer Ismail al-Jazari, in The Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, ca. 1206. Designed to be a mechanical version of the human servants who would otherwise be serving wine at the Artuqid court in Diyarbekir. (Image: Syria or Egypt, 1315, Copenhagen, David Collection 20/1988):

The walled garden of the chateau of Hesdin, in northern France, with the elaborate machinations of Fortune, below. The estate was the site of elaborate gardens with mechanical animals, birds, musical instruments, and fountains in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. (Image: France, ca. 1350. Paris, Bibliothèque national de Paris, MS Fr. 1586):

 

Page from a book of drawings by Villard de Honnecourt, ca. 1225. Villard was a draughtsman and builder, and included drawings of many mechanical designs, including a mechanical eagle, a trick goblet, and a mechanical angel. (Image: Paris, BnF, MS Fr. 19093):

Alexander the Great encounters two golden knights guarding a bridge in India, from the Romance of Alexander (ca. 1180). (Image: France, 14th century. Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 264):

Introducing "Mrs Satan," Spritualist Medium, Free Love Advocate, and Journalist Victoria Woodhull : Guest Post by Artist and Scholar and Residence Shannon Taggart

In the following guest post, Morbid Anatomy Artist and Scholar and Residence Shannon Taggart introduces us to the exceptional feminist figure Victoria Woodhull; dubbed “Mrs. Satan” by her vilifiers, she was not only a Spiritualist Medium but also the first woman to run for president (in 1872), a stockbroker, journalist, publisher, and free love advocate, all at a time when women were still denied many basic rights.

The life of Victoria Woodhull will be explored in an upcoming lecture Morbid Anatomy Museum lecture by Dr. Cristina Zaccarini on the afternoon of June 11. This is just one component of a five-day series exploring Spiritualism and its historical connections to feminism with talks, live demonstrations, and workshops that invite the audience to experiment with Spiritualist practice. The program is co-hosted by mediums Lauren Thibodeau and Susan Barnes from Lily Dale, NY, the world’s largest Spiritualist community. You can find out more about Saturday's talk here, and more about the series here.

 “Yes, I am a Free Lover. I have an inalienable, constitutional, and natural right to love whom I may, to love as long or as short a period as I can; to change that love every day if I please, and with that right neither you nor any law you can frame have any right to interfere.” – Victoria Woodhull 

Spiritualist Medium Victoria Woodhull was not only the first woman to run for president in 1872, but also a stockbroker, journalist, publisher, and free love advocate. Amidst a life of scandal and vilification, and even dubbed “Mrs. Satan” by the press, Woodhull was an accomplished woman even by contemporary standards: Woodhull did this all at a time when women were lacking in many basic rights to their children and property, protection from rape, and citizenship. In the upcoming lecture Free Love Advocate and Presidential Candidate: The Revolutionary Feminism of Victoria Woodhull, Cristina Zaccarini will illustrate the myriad ways that Woodhull’s achievements were inextricably linked to the spiritual and intuitive abilities she exercised throughout her lifetime.

Anatomical Venus Book Release Events at The Strand Rare Book Room and The Morbid Anatomy Museum!

The Anatomical Venus--an "epically illustrated" new book by Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein--explores the curious history of seductive female anatomical wax models, created in the 18th century and peaking in fashion in the 19th. The book traces--in images and words--the evolution of these enigmatic sculptures from wax effigy to fetish figure and the embodiment of the uncanny.

Described by Publisher's Weekly as "the strangest book of 2016," The Anatomical Venus officially launches tomorrow, and we are celebrating with two events. The first will be a conversation on Thursday, June 2 between Joanna Ebenstein and Evan Michelson of the Science Channel’s Oddities taking place at the Rare Book Room at The Strand (more here) followed by a book signing.

For the more committed among you, on Saturday June 4th The Morbid Anatomy Museum will host a day long symposium exploring the range of topics covered by the book including anatomized women, wax, the ecstatic, Catholicism and the cult of the saints, the uncanny, and more; featured speakers include Joanna Ebenstein, Mel Gordon, Stephen Asma, Mark Dery, Mike Sappol, Amy Herzog, Asti Hustvedt, Shannon Taggart, Margaret Schwartz, Ronni Thomas, Marie Dauenheimer, Colin Dickey Lissa Rivera, and Karen Bachman; you can see the full line up below, or by clicking here. There will also be an afterparty at our favorite bar Halyards featuring DJ Friese Undine and films curated by David Cory. 

At both events, Museum co-founder and board chair Tracy Hurley Martin will make opening remarks, and books will be available for sale and signing.

You can learn more about the book here; read reviews in Vice, The Telegraph, Publisher's Weekly, Bust and The Guardian; and hear an interview about The Venus with the author on BBC 4's Women's Hour here. You can order the UK (Thames and Hudson) and US (DAP) edition of the book here.

Anatomical Venus Book Release Party and Symposium
Date: Saturday, June 4
Time: 11 AM -7:15 PM
Admission: $45 ( Admission + Book ), $10 ( Morbid Anatomy Member Symposium Admission ); $15 ( Regular Symposium Admission )
***Copies of The Anatomical Venus will be available for sale and signing.
*** Admission also includes access to museum exhibits including House of Wax
Tickets here

The Anatomical Venus--a new Morbid Anatomy book by our co-founder and creative director, Joanna Ebenstein--explores the curious history of seductive female anatomical wax models, created in the 18th century and peaking in fashion in the 19th. The book traces--in images and words--the evolution of these enigmatic sculptures from wax effigy to fetish figure and the embodiment of the uncanny.

On June 4, we hope you'll join us for a one-day symposium to celebrate the release of The Anatomical Venus with a symposium exploring the range of topics covered by the book including anatomized women, wax, the ecstatic, Catholicism and the cult of the saints, the uncanny, and more. After, join us for an after party at our local bar, Halyards, with DJ stylings by Friese Undine and films curated by David Cory. Books will be available for sale and signing.

11:00 AM
Introductory Remarks by Tracy Hurley Martin (Morbid Anatomy Museum Co-Founder and Board Chair)

11:10 AM
Joanna Ebenstein (Morbid Anatomy Founder, Morbid Anatomy Museum Co-Founder and Creative Director): "An Enlightenment-era St Teresa Ravished by Communion with the Invisible Forces of Science": A Brief Introduction to The Anatomical Venus

11:30 AM
Introductory Talk: Evan Michelson (Scholar in Residence, TV's Oddities): An Anatomical Pilgrimage

12:00 - 1:45
PANEL ONE: Agalmatophilia, or People who Fall in Love with Non-animate Humans
-- Margaret Schwartz (Fordham Univsersity): "I Buried Her Standing Because She Had Balls!" The Strange Afterlife of Eva Perón.
-- Lissa Rivera (Artist): The History of Sex Dolls
-- Ronni Thomas (Filmmaker in Residence): Mad Science, Mysticism, Romance and Necrophilia: The Strange Tale of Carl von Cosel and Elena Hoyos

1:45 - 2:45: Lunch Break

2:45 - 4:00
PANEL TWO: Corpo Sancto: Faith, Metaphysics and The Body
-- Stephen Asma (author of Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads): The Redemptive Body: a Theology of Anatomy
-- Colin Dickey (author of Cranioklepty and Afterlives of the Saints): Saint Teresa and the Erotics of Reading
-- Karen Bachman (Hair Artist in Residence): Holy Body Parts!: Speaking Reliquaries and Catholic Saints
-- Brian Cotnoir (Alchemist in Residence): How to Animate a Statue
 
4:00 - 5:00
PANEL THREE: Entranced Women on Display
-- Shannon Taggart (Programmer in Residence): In the Spirit Cabinet
-- Asti Hustvedt (author of Medical Muses, editor of Zone's Decadent Reader): The Hysterical Venus

5:00-6:30
PANEL FOUR: The Pleasures of Anatomy and the Anatomical Gaze
-- Mark Dery (Cultural Critic, Author of I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts): On The Pathological Sublime: Dark Matter and Aesthetic Rapture
-- Marie Dauenheimer (Medical Illustrator): Albinus, Wanderlaar and the Creation of the Homo Perfectus
-- Mel Gordon (Author of Voluptuous Panic): Showcases of the Marvelous - The Rise and Fall of Berlins Panopticums (1888-1923)
-- Michael Sappol (National Library of Medicine): Queer Anatomies: Perverse desire, medical illustration, and the epistemology of the anatomical closet

6:30- 7:15
Keynote Lecture: Amy Herzog (Queens College): Women in Boxes

7:15: Afterparty at Halyards with DJ stylings by Friese Undine and films curated by David Cory.

Morbid Anatomy London Based Events This May: Morbid Anatomy Salon and One Day Anatomical Venus Symposium

The Morbid Anatomy Salon at London's Wellcome Collection is sadly now fully booked; apologies it sold out so fast! The good news is the event will be filmed and you'll be available to watch online soon after the live event. Stay tuned for more.

Those who were unable to get tickets for this event might be interested in our other upcoming event in London, a one day symposium in honor of our new book on The Anatomical Venus on May 15th. It features a few of the same speakers, such as Chiara Ambrosio, Ross MacFarlane, and Morbid Anatomy founder and museum creative director Joanna Ebenstein. Other presenters include Strange Attractor's Mark Pilkington, wax sculptor and Morbid Anatomist at Large Eleanor Crook, Anatomist in residence Emily Evans, historian of medicine James Kennaway, John Troyer of the Centre for Death and Society, magic lanternist Mervyn Heard, Stephen Coates of The Real Tuesday Weld, and much more.

Since their creation, The Anatomical Venus--an18th century life-sized wax woman created to teach a general public about anatomy--have seduced, intrigued and amazed; this symposium will also attempt to explore the ways in which, to the contemporary eye, they also confound, flickering on the edges of medicine and magic, votive and vernacular, fetish and fine art.

Full line up follows; ticket link should be added by Monday!

THE ANATOMICAL VENUS, MORBID ANATOMIES AND STRANGE ATTRACTORS: A ONE DAY SYMPOSIUM TO MARK THE LAUNCH OF THE ENW BOOK "THE ANATOMICAL VENUS"
TIME: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
PRICE: £13/ £7 STUDENTS
OFFSITE AT London's Horse Hospital
TICKETS LINK ADDED SOON!

Please join Morbid Anatomy and Strange Attractor as we celebrate the release of the new book “The Anatomical Venus” (published by Thames and Hudson in the UK and DAP in the US), which explores the strange and fascinating history of seductive female anatomical wax models, which peaked in fashion in the 19th century. Filled with never before published images from around the world, and documented in intricate detail, the book is the result of Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein’s global, ten-year photographic quest. Since their creation, these wax women have seduced, intrigued and amazed; this symposium will also attempt to explore the ways in which, to the contemporary eye, they also confound, flickering on the edges of medicine and magic, votive and vernacular, fetish and fine art.

SCHEDULE
10:00 AM: Joanna Ebenstein, Morbid Anatomy, Author of “The Anatomical Venus: “An Enlightenment-era St Teresa Ravished by Communion with the Invisible Forces of Science: A Brief Introduction to The Anatomical Venus

10:15: Keynote: Eleanor Crook, Wax Sculptor: The Deliquescent Self: Wax, Anatomies and the Fear of Melting

10:45-12:45: Panel One: Faith, Magic, Theology & The Body: Moderated by Ross MacFarlane, Wellcome Collection

• Chiara Ambrosio, Filmmaker: My Grandfather the Spirit Doctor & Me: Listening to Bones and the Voices in the Ether
• Emily Evans, Artist and Anatomist: The Use of Human Hair in Art and the Divine
• William Maclehose, Historian of Religion and Medicine, UCL: Sleeping with the Divine: Incubation and Dream Healing in the Premodern World
• Ross MacFarlane, Research Engagement Office, Wellcome Library: An Intimate Collection? Tracing Emotions in Edward Lovett’s Amulets and Charms
• James Kennaway, Historian of Medicine, Newcastle: The Role of Music in Mesmerism

12:45-1:45: Lunch Break

1:45-3:45: Panel 2: Natural and Supernatural: Moderated by Mark Pilkington, Strange Attractor Press

• Mark Pilkington, Strange Attractor Press: Echoes of Afterlife: Comparing Textual and Medical Models of Post-Mortem Existence
• Christopher Josiffe, Cataloguer at Senate House Library and Writer: Gef! The Strange Tale of An Extra Special Talking Mongoose
• Jonathan Allen. Artist, Writer and Educator: The Tarot of Austin Osman Spare
• Kirsten Norrie, Artist, Writer, Performer: Second Sight in Highland Tradition

3:45-5:00: Panel 3: Wax: Moderated by Eleanor Crook, Wax Sculptor

• Eleanor Crook: Talk and Wax Modeling Demonstration
• Nathalie Latour, Wax Conservator, Paris: André Pierre Pinson, the Wax Modeler of the French Revolution

5:00 – 7:00 Panel 4: Morbid Amusements: Moderated by John Troyer, Centre for Death and Society

• John Troyer, Director of the Centre for Death and Society, Bath: That’s Not Funny!: Morbidly Amusing Necrophilia Law
• Lili Sarnyai, University of London, Graduate Student: Sleeping Beauties
• Professor Mervyn Heard, performer, scholar and author of Phantasmagoria: The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern: Phantasmagoria: Ghost-raising for Fun and Profit in the 18th Century
• Steven Coates, Musician (The Real Tuesday Weld) and Author: Xray Audio: Soviet Music on the Bone

Image: Anatomical Venuses created by the workshop at La Specola, Florence, Josephinum Museum, Vienna, Austria. Photo by Joanna Ebenstein

Public Dissections, Frederik Ruysch and the Theatrum Anatomicum: Touring the Waag at Amsterdam Anatomy Weekend

As part of our recent Amsterdam Anatomy Weekend, The Vrolik Museum's Lisa Kuiper gave a fascinating tour of The Waag (above), which is not only the oldest building in Amsterdam (dating back to 1488) but also housed the anatomical theatre where public dissections were performed under the hand of Frederik Ruysch and others from 1691 until the early 19th century. The content of the following post is primarily sourced from Lisa's excellent tour.

The Waag, Kuiper explained, began its life as a city gate; called St Anthony’s Port, it was locked each evening at 10 pm. It went on to become a weighing house (Waag in Dutch) where goods would be weighed before entering the city to evaluate the appropriate taxes before they went to market. From 1588 on, it also served as the home to the city's guilds, including that of the Surgeons; they were given the top space, a testament to thier importance. The Surgeons' Guild built a "Theatrum Anatomicum," or Anatomical Theatre, which could be entered through this door:



Here, they conducted dissections, usually on the bodies of executed criminals; in this way their location was convenient, because criminals were also executed here, as seen in this artwork from 1812:

Guillotine on the Nieuwmarkt, Gerrit Lamberts , 1812.
Via Amsterdam Municipal Archives.

In 1690, neighbors of the Waag sent a letter to the Surgeon's Guild, requesting that the dissections be opened to the curious public; they did so the following year, under the persuasion of famed embalmer, anatomist and so called "artist of death" Frederik Ruysch who also conducted the first dissections. Below you can see him dissecting a child attached to the placenta; more on the man and his work below.

Jan van Neck, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Frederick Ruysch, 1683.
Amsterdams Historisch Museum

Dissections could take as long as seven days to complete, with admission prices varying based on proximity to the body and the day you wished to attend, with earlier dates being more expensive and smelling less vile. The Waag also functioned--as did the Leiden anatomical theatre--as sort of museum, open on Christmas and special fair and market days. Here, one could see a cat with four hind legs, a skeleton of a child playing violin along with other skeletons, the preserved skins of dissected criminals, a taxidermied lion and lioness, and more. At least some of the preparations were made by Frederik Ruysch himself.

Until the 1820's, as explained in a lecture by Vrolik Director Laurens de Rooy, anatomists would dress skeletons and put them in the windows during the the annual market fair, presumably to advertise the contents of the museum; he kindly sent me a copy of the image so I could include it here:

Illustration from Marja Keyser's Komt dat zien!
De Amsterdamse kermis in de 19e eeuw
(‘Come and see! The Amsterdam fair in the 19th century)
Courtesy of Laurens de Rooy

Rembrandt's famous 1632 painting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" depicts a dissection which took place at The Waag's Theatrum Anatomicum:

Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632

As with all guild portraits, each doctor would have paid for their own portrait. Dr Tulp is one of very many anatomy guild paintings; we also were lucky enough to see a few more at the Amsterdam Hermitage as part of the exhibition Portrait Gallery of the Golden Age:

Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Jan Deyman, 1656;
fragment; the rest destroyed in a fire.

Nicolaes Eliasz Pickenoy, The Osteology Lesson of
Dr Sebastiaen Egbertsz, 1619.

Adriaen Backer, Anatomy lesson of Frederik Ruysch, 1670
Amsterdam Museum

The exhibit also housed an image of the Theatrum Anatomicum in the Waag from the 18th century seemingly rendered in gold and silver:

The Theatrum Anatomicum in the Waag, Jonas Zeuner
after Adolf van der Laan, Second half of 18th Century

And a memento mori themed plaque originally on display at an orphanage; it was made during a year when the city of Amsterdam was wracked by plague, with 10% of the population decimated and the orphanages overrun.

Albert Jansz Vinckenbrinck (1604-1664), Death, 1663

Wealthy surgeons might opt for inclusion in a guild portrait, but another and less expensive way surgeons could be immortalized would be to have their family crest painted on the ceiling of the Waag's Theatrum Anatomicum; they can still be seen today




Ruysch's crest is in the very center, reflecting his fame and his importance to the space.

Around the building, in gold letters, reads a memento-mori themed exhortation in Old Dutch. said to have been written by Ruysch himself:

Here is what is says, in a impromptu translation by The Waag's Helen Fermante:

Those who have done bad in life
Will be of use after our death
Health has been taken back from death itself
The dead body gives to the pupil even though its dumb and its tongue already dead, advises you not to do as criminals
Head, finger, kidney, tongue, head, lung, brain, bones, and hands
Give you the living a warning example
So you hear and take to heart
that when you go along the different paths of life
you'll be convened that even in the small details God is still hidden there

In this way, one could see the Theatrum Anatomicum as an extension of the aims of Ruysch's home cabinet, where he displayed his unique preparations that were equal part science and memento mori, such as the allegorically themed fetal skeleton tableau in the illustration below. The skeleton at the bottom is holding a mayfly which, as it only lives a single day, is a symbol of mortality. The top skeleton plays a violin atop a mountain of gall and bladder stones, surrounded by foliage crafted from other preserved human remains. You can find out more about the remarkable Frederik Ruysch--who we call our patron saint--here.

To see more photos from our Amsterdam Anatomy Weekend, click here. The next iteration will take place on April 21-23 2007. If you sign our mailing list by clicking here, you will be alerted when the event is announced.