Showing posts with label morbid anatomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label morbid anatomy. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Obstetrical Phantoms! Dracula and Syphilis! Incorruptable Saints! Tarantism in Southern Italy! Krampus Costume Party! The Devil! Taxidermy Galore: Upcoming New York City Morbid Anatomy Events

Morbid Anatomy has so many exciting happenings coming up that we hardly know where to begin.

This week, we hope you'll join us for one or two lectures by visiting scholar Brandy Schillace. Her first talk, on the topic of "obstetrical phantoms" (middle image) and the "uncanny valley," will take place this Thursday night. Her second, this Friday night, will be on "Dracula, Degeneration and Syphilitic Births at the Fin de Siècle," and will feature thematic music and artistinal cocktails by Friese Undine (top image).

In the weeks to come we have something to suit every taste; on December 7th, we are delighted to host London-based Chiara Ambrosio for a talk/screening on "Tarantism: Dance, Possession and Exorcism in Southern Italy (bottom image)" followed by All the Saints You Should Know's Elizabeth Harper's talk on the relics of Paris on December 9th. On December 10th, we hope you'll join us for "Danse Macabre: Death and Material Ecologies in Brittany" with art historian Maura Coughlin.

Following this, we have a weekend of parties and specatacle! On Friday the 13th (!) of December, we will celebrate the date and Morbid Anatomy's birthday with "THE DEVIL - A Celebration" featuring an Illustrated lecture by The Midnight Archive's Ronni Thomas; an artifact show and tell; live music by Bird Radio; DJed tunes and cocktails by Friese Undine; and sweets by Rachel Ridout. The very next night--Saturday December 14th--you won't want to miss our annual party devoted to Krampus, St. Nicholas' cloven-hooved, chain-swinging, lolling-toungued, child-punishing Eastern-European sidekick. Come in your best Krampus costume to win prizes! That same weekend, from 12-6 on Saturday and Sunday, you won't want to miss the Morbid Anatomy Holiday Fair, with a variety of vendors serving your alternative holiday needs including taxidermy, waxworks, anthropomorphic insect tableaux and more. More on that soon.

And, finally, for those who want to learn the craft of taxidermy, Morbid Anatomy Taxidermist in Residence Divya Anantharaman has scores of offerings just for you, including Small Rabbit Taxidermy Class "Trophy Plaque" or Full Size Mount (November 14); Anthropomorphic/Naturalistic Chipmunk Taxidermy Class Krampus Special (December 7); Skull, Bone, Antler Decoration Workshop (December 8) and Anthropomorphic/Naturalistic Squirrel Taxidermy Class (January 12).

Full details follow on all events; hope to see you at one or more!
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Mother Machine: an ‘Uncanny Valley’ in the Eighteenth Century Illustrated lecture with Dr. Brandy Schillace
Date: Thursday, November 21
Admission: $8
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Observatory, Brooklyn (543 Union Street (at Nevins), Brooklyn, NY 11215)


Known by a variety of names—“this most curious machine,” “this mock woman,” and the “celebrated Apparatus” —Dr. William Smellie’s mechanized obstetrical phantom was both science and spectacle in the eighteenth century. Strangely, however, though crucial to the training of at least 900 man-midwives in ten years, the machine disappears from both the actual and rhetorical "scene" of 18th-century obstetrical science.

This illustrated talk will explore the mitigating factors contributing to the machine's disappearance. Why was such a valuable teaching tool auctioned to the public after Smellie’s death? Why did famed obstetrician William Hunter agree to sell his own copy of the machine to Dr. Foster of the Dublin Rotunda? And why—after so much popular debate—does the machine disappear from public notice by the latter part of the century? Dr. Schillace will also document her own rather circuitous journey of discovery, that is, the necessary labor of unearthing (if not birthing) a medical artifact’s unusual history.

Dr. Brandy Schillace
is an interdisciplinary, medical-humanist scholar. She writes about cultural production, history of science, and intersections of medicine and literature. She is the managing editor of Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, an international journal of cross-cultural health research and a guest curator and blogger for the Dittrick Medical History Museum. Dr. Schillace was the keynote speaker for the annual meeting of the Archivists and Librarians in the History of Health Sciences 2013, and is the recent recipient of the Chawton House Library Fellowship (for study of 18th century women writers) and the Wood Institute travel grant from the Philadelphia College of Physicians. She has also an edited book collection under contingent contract with Cambria Press: Birthing the Monster of Tomorrow: Unnatural Reproductions. For a selection of recently published work, please visit http://fictionreboot-dailydose.com/publications-and-press.

Image: A late eighteenth-century “birthing phantom.” Unlike Smellie’s machine, these were not intended to be exactly like the living body, but rather a basic replica allowing midwives to understand the position of the child in the birth canal. By permission of the Dittrick Medical History Center and Museum
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“Children of the Night”: Dracula, Degeneration and Syphilitic Births at the Fin de Siècle
Illustrated lecture with Dr. Brandy Schillace and custom cocktails and DJed music by Friese Undine
Date: Friday, November 22
Admission: $10
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Observatory, Brooklyn (543 Union Street (at Nevins), Brooklyn, NY 11215)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is often read as a narrative of reverse colonization, revealing fears of degeneration at the fin de siècle. Anxieties over the decline of empire and—as both symptom and consequence—the degeneration of masculinity in Victorian Britain resulted in a number of dystopic narratives, each revealing an uneasy relationship between evolution and devolution, sexuality, sexual identity and mental health. However, the signal terror of Stoker’s vampires lies not only in their overt sexuality and promiscuity—but also in their fecundity. As Van Helsing warns, the vampire is not a single foe but a potential army. Both “father” and unnatural mother, Count Dracula is capable of reproducing the undead—and yet his victims do not, it seems reproduce themselves.

In this presentation Dr. Schillace will explore accounts of syphilitic infection as a means of understanding the complexities of infection among the “innocents,” Lucy Westenra and the children she victimizes. Culminating in a re-examination of the only human birth in Stoker’s novel—Mina Harker’s son Quincy—this project seeks to provide new insight into 19th century anxieties about degeneration’s naissance.

Dr. Brandy Schillace is an interdisciplinary, medical-humanist scholar. She writes about cultural production, history of science, and intersections of medicine and literature. She is the managing editor of Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, an international journal of cross-cultural health research and a guest curator and blogger for the Dittrick Medical History Museum. Dr. Schillace was the keynote speaker for the annual meeting of the Archivists and Librarians in the History of Health Sciences 2013, and is the recent recipient of the Chawton House Library Fellowship (for study of 18th century women writers) and the Wood Institute travel grant from the Philadelphia College of Physicians. She also an edited book collection under contingent contract with Cambria Press: Birthing the Monster of Tomorrow: Unnatural Reproductions. For a selection of recently published work, please visit http://fictionreboot-dailydose.com/publications-and-press.
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Small Rabbit Taxidermy Class "Trophy Plaque" or Full Size Mount with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Sunday, November 24
Time: 12:00pm - 6pm
Admission: $250
*TICKETS MUST BE PRE-ORDERED AT http://smallrabbittaxidermy.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 six students), we will study the happy and hoppy rabbit! Students will create a fully-finished rabbit mount in a naturalistic or anthropomorphic position. There is also the option to create a "trophy style" shoulder mount (where the head and shoulder is mounted on a wooden plaque). When purchasing ticket, please specify which you would like to do.

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 create a wrapped body form using the rabbit's own body as reference, and how to reconstruct a rabbit head using the skull as reference. Students will also be introduced to the techniques of ear turning and ear carding. 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 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.

Divya Anantharaman is a Brooklyn based artist whose taxidermy practice was sparked by a lifelong fascination with natural mythology and everyday oddities. After a journey filled with trial and error, numerous books, and an inspiring class (Sue Jeiven's popular Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class at Observatory!), she has found her calling in creating sickly sweet and sparkly critters. Beginning with mice and sparrows, her menagerie grew to include domestic cats, woodchucks, and deer. Recently profiled on Vice Fringes, the New York Observer, and other publications, she will also be appearing in the upcoming season of Oddities-and is definitely up to no good shenanigans. You can find out more at www.d-i-v-y-a.com
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/Naturalistic Chipmunk Taxidermy Class with Divya-Krampus Special!
A class with Morbid Anatomy Library Taxidermist in Residence Divya Anantharaman
Date: Saturday, December 7 (afternoon)
Time: 12:30PM
Admission: $120
*TICKETS MUST BE PRE-ORDERED AT http://chippytaxidermy.brownpapertickets.com/
***Offsite at The Fabricoscope (41 Willow Place, #2, 11201 Brooklyn) (MAP)
Subway: Court St, Borough Hall, Jay St. Metro Tech.

Perfect for beginners, this hands-on class will examine the nutty ways of the chipmunk! Students will create a fully-finished chipmunk mount in the naturalistic or anthropomorphic style of their choice. 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 a few methods of creating a form to suit a small animal (sculpting, the age old technique of wrapping, and carving) and students will have the option of selecting which technique they would like to use for their piece. 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.
In the spirit of the holidays, we will have some extra special Krampus themed props, accessories, and refreshments!
Each student will leave class with a fully finished piece, and the knowledge to create their own pieces in the future.
Divya Anantharaman, one of the Morbid Anatomy Library's "taxidermists in residence," is a Brooklyn based artist whose taxidermy practice was sparked by a lifelong fascination with natural mythology and everyday oddities. After a journey filled with trial and error, numerous books, and an inspiring class (Sue Jeiven's popular Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class at Observatory!), she has found her calling in creating sickly sweet and sparkly critters. Beginning with mice and sparrows, her menagerie grew to include domestic cats, woodchucks, and deer. Recently profiled on Vice Fringes, the New York Observer, and other publications, she will also be appearing in the upcoming season of Oddities-and is definitely up to no good shenanigans. You can find out more at www.d-i-v-y-a.com

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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Tarantism: Dance, Possession and Exorcism in Southern Italy: Illustrated Lecture and Screening with Chiara Ambrosio
Illustrated Lecture and Screening with Filmmaker and Artist Chiara Ambrosio with Thematic DJed music and Special Cocktails by Friese Undine
Date: Saturday, December 7 (evening)
Time: 8:00
Admission: $10
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
** This talk originally premiered at the 2013 Congress of Curious Peoples, London
Tarantism is a form of dance mania that illustrates the complex struggle between Pagnism and Catholicism in the South of Italy.
Its journey and development- from Greek and Roman times, through the middle ages and renaissance, straight through to the modern day- traces a story that transcends the history of medicine and religion to embrace a vast and complicated conversation about the political and socio-economical identity of a land, and the continued fight for freedom and emancipation in an extremely volatile and difficult terrain, both physical and psychological.
This event will begin with a talk will exploring Tarantism as a ritualistic spectacle that, through dance and music, offers a form of resistance and continuation of specific local histories beliefs and identity. After the talk, Chiara will screen her film "Time To Go,"which was heavily inspired by the ideas behind the talk and dance as a form of exorcism. There will also be DJed music and special artisinal cocktails courtesy of artist Friese Undine
Chiara Ambrosio is a filmmaker working with animation, experimental film, documentary and sound to explore the ways in which we perceive, remember, articulate and preserve personal and collective histories and place through the filter of memory and the imagination. Her most recent works include “ A Walk Through Woods,” a film-cycle developed and filmed on location in North Cornwall, and “La Frequenza Fantasma (The Ghost Frequency)”, a feature-length documentary film-poem developed as part of a Fellowship in the Visual Anthropology department of Goldsmith University and filmed in a village in the South of Italy. Her first animation was produced and scored by British composer Michael Nyman, and her subsequent work has included collaborations with performance artists, musicians and writers, and has been shown in a number of venues including national and international film festivals, galleries and site-specific events. Chiara is also the founder and curator of The Light & Shadow Salon, a monthly film salon at The Horse Hospital in Bloomsbury. More information can be found at: www.acuriousroom.com.

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Skull, Bone, Antler Decoration Workshop with Divya Anantharaman
A class with Morbid Anatomy Library Taxidermist in Residence Divya Anantharaman
Date: Sunday, December 8
Time: 1:00 PM
Admission: $85.00
*TICKETS MUST BE PRE-ORDERED AT http://skulldecoration.brownpapertickets.com/
***Offsite at The Fabricoscope (41 Willow Place, #2, 11201 Brooklyn) (MAP)
Subway: Court St, Borough Hall, Jay St. Metro Tech.
For as long as humankind has been harvesting animals for food and clothing, we have also been using their bones to create tools, utensils, and art. A timeless tradition, from ancient to modern times, the possibilities are endless, and a great way to celebrate the holidays-with a decoration for your home, or creating a handmade gift for a loved one.
In this class, we will explore the many ways we can celebrate animals and our relationship to them by decorating their skulls, bones, and other parts using a number of materials and methods. Students will be guided in decorating a small skull, antler shed, or other part of their choice (from the selection provided). In addition to an assortment of skulls, bones, and shed antlers, decorative materials provided will include beads, crystals, expertly dried plants and flowers (Divya's signature specialty, used in her blooming skull and antler pieces), paints, finishes, and a number of other materials. Students are also welcome to bring their own design ideas or special items. There will also be inspirational images and books available for use.
This class will teach students everything involved in properly decorating bone in order to have a lasting piece, including initial cleaning, whitening and degreasing, any special preparation required based on the ornamentation of their choice, and a variety of attachment techniques. Tools and 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.
Divya Anantharaman, one of the Morbid Anatomy Library's "taxidermists in residence," is a Brooklyn based artist whose taxidermy practice was sparked by a lifelong fascination with natural mythology and everyday oddities. After a journey filled with trial and error, numerous books, and an inspiring class (Sue Jeiven's popular Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class at Observatory!), she has found her calling in creating sickly sweet and sparkly critters. Beginning with mice and sparrows, her menagerie grew to include domestic cats, woodchucks, and deer. Recently profiled on Vice Fringes, the New York Observer, and other publications, she will also be appearing in the upcoming season of Oddities-and is definitely up to no good shenanigans. You can find out more at www.d-i-v-y-a.com
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.
_______________________________________________

The Bones of the Saints: Unlocking the Secret History of Paris
An illustrated lecture by All the Saints You Should Know's Elizabeth Harper
Date: Monday, December 9
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Though frequently overlooked by tourists and locals alike, the holy dead of Paris continue to haunt the city to this day. The bodies of the saints are inextricably woven into the city and unlock some of the most fascinating chapters in the history of Paris.
In this highly illustrated talk, All the Saints You Should Know's Elizabeth Harper will introduce you to such curiosities as cephalophores, or decapitated saints like St. Denis, the patron saint of Paris; incorruptible corpses and their corruptible counterparts sculpted in wax that reside on the same street; the relics of Roman Empress St. Helena, the first relic hunter, now hidden away in a small parish crypt; the bones of 11,000 virgins that never existed; and finally the relics of the patroness of Paris and her connection the murder of an Archbishop by an occultist in the 19th century.
Elizabeth Harper writes All the Saints You Should Know, a blog on Catholic relics and lore as well as pieces on saints and sacred destinations for Atlas Obscura. She is the creator of the "Relics in Rome" map, which pinpoints hundreds of publicly viewable saints' relics in Rome's 900+ churches. She was also an organizer and presenter at Death Salon 2013. By day she is a lighting designer for theatre and opera. She's is currently collaborating with Teller from Penn and Teller on "Play Dead" in Los Angeles.

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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.
Divya Anantharaman, one of the Morbid Anatomy Library's "taxidermists in residence," is a Brooklyn based artist whose taxidermy practice was sparked by a lifelong fascination with natural mythology and everyday oddities. After a journey filled with trial and error, numerous books, and an inspiring class (Sue Jeiven's popular Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class at Observatory!), she has found her calling in creating sickly sweet and sparkly critters. Beginning with mice and sparrows, her menagerie grew to include domestic cats, woodchucks, and deer. Recently profiled on Vice Fringes, the New York Observer, and other publications, she will also be appearing in the upcoming season of Oddities-and is definitely up to no good shenanigans. You can find out more at www.d-i-v-y-a.com


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.
_______________________________________________

Danse Macabre: Death and Material Ecologies in Brittany
Illustrated lecture by Art Historian Maura Coughlin
Date: Tuesday, December 10
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Ossuaries, skull boxes, widows weeds and material substitutions for bodies missing at sea figure in many travel narratives, popular images and paintings of Breton coastal culture. Many representations depict the seemingly anachronistic practice of reburial of the body, several years after its interment; the ritual function of the ossuary in the churchyard; the display of individual skull boxes in the church and ossuary; and the hybrid Celtic-Christian culture of death lore, Toussaint and the Ankou (grim reaper) in Brittany. A range of artistic topographies have been written onto the Breton landscape, mapping out an ecology of place, obsessed with the pervasive nature of death. Maura Coughlin will explore topics of death, mourning, waste and ecology in coastal Brittany from about 1850 to 1940.
Maura Coughlin, after receiving a PhD in Art History from New York University in 2001, taught at Brown University, RISD and in the art history departments of several New England Universities. She is now Associate Professor of Visual Studies at Bryant University. In late fall of 2013, she has essays related to her talk at Morbid Anatomy being published in two new collections: Death Tourism: Disaster Sites as Recreational Landscape. Edited by Brigitte Sion (Seagull Books - Enactments, December 2013 ) and Women and the Material Culture of Death (Edited by Maureen Daly Goggin and Beth Fowkes Tobin (Ashgate) November 2013). She also runs the blog materialbrittany.blogspot.com—a stew of thoughts on visual and material culture related to Brittany, where mourning, skulls, fish, seaweed, death and compost all collide—and is working on a film, Danse Macabre, which uses layers of imagery and sound work to mimic some of the associations conjured by the fin de siècle fascination with the cult of death in Brittany.
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THE DEVIL - A Celebration and Morbid Anatomy Birthday Party
Illustrated lecture by The Midnight Archive's Ronni Thomas; Artifact Show and Tell; Live Music by Bird Radio; DJed tunes and cocktails by Friese Undine; Sweets by Rachel Ridout; and Morbid Anatomy Birthday Party
Date: Friday, December 13
Time: 8:00
Admission: $12
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
This Friday the 13th of December, join us for a night of demonic fun as we explore history’s most elusive and alluring character - The Christian Devil. Morbid Anatomy filmmaker in Residence Ronni Thomas (themidnightarchive.com) has a freely admitted obsession with the Devil; tonight he will discuss his origin, his life, his evolution, and his importance in “three acts”; early Christianity, middle ages, and romantic-modern era’. We will also take a look at the Devil’s fascinatingly designed Hell as perceived by Dante, Tundale, Bosch and many others. How did the Devil go from being a genuine and terrifying threat to becoming a champion for the passionate and rebellious? Where did the devil get his horns? What did 666 represent?
The event will be interactive through dialogue, art and physical artifacts provided from Thomas’ own collection and that of Oddities' Evan Michelson’s private collection. And most importantly the event will bring our own little devil Joanna Ebenstein (founder of Morbid Anatomy) to her 25th year of age ;) We will also be celebrating the birthday of special guest Chiara Ambrosio. Cocktails by Friese Undine and demonic themed music throughout as well as decorated ambiance and festivities. There will also be live music by London's Bird Radio and sweets by Rachel Ridout. Not to miss-ssssssss…
Ronni Thomas is the Morbid Anatomy Museum Filmmaker in Residence. He is creator of The Midnight Archive web series is an avid drinker who appreciates both the history of antique spirits and the effects they have on his self esteem. He is currently working on a film about Victorian anthropomorphic taxidermist Walter Potter; more on that here.

Image: The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, 1440; sourced at Metal on Metal

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The Ghoul a Go Go and Morbid Anatomy Krampus A Go-Go Costume Party!
Date: Saturday, December 14
Time: 8:00
Admission: $13
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and Ghoul a Go Go
Join Ghoul A Go-Go and Morbid Anatomy at Observatory for their 200th annual party devoted to Krampus, St. Nicholas' cloven-hooved, chain-swinging, lolling-toungued, child-punishing Eastern-European sidekick! We've emptied a bag full of children to make room for all the fun!
A mystery episode of Ghoul A Go-Go will be shown in a darkened room. Cardone the Ultimate Vaudeville Magician will be there to astound you with his ultimate Vaudeville magic. Dust off that old Krampus outfit, because there will be a Krampus Kostume Kontest with a prize for the best! Instead of a movie, this year Creighton will be showing clips from his secret stash of bizarre holiday films.
You'll believe a reindeer can fly!
You will also have some beer, wine, and an Old Country favorite shot to warm you up! There will even be a Krampus Kake for those who are into that sort of thing. It wouldn't be the Observatory if you didn't learn yerself nuthin'. So, Vlad and Creighton will teach you their style of taxidermy. Creighton will demonstrate the process right before your eyes. You will then be given the opportunity to make your own critter (while supplies last) and a prize awarded for best monstrosity!
* Ghoul A Go-Go “MYSTERY EPISODE” with Vlad & Creighton appearing LIVE!
* CARDONE performing magic!
* Creighton screens his secret stash of bizarre holiday films!
* Taxidermy lesson as taught by Creighton: Everybody will a chance to create their own taxidermied critter!
* Krampus Kostume Kontest with prize awarded to best!
* Brew and spirits from The Old Country! Krampus Kake! More fun than you can beat with a stick!
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Morbid Anatomy Holiday Fair: Save the Date
Date: Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15
Time: 12 - 6
Admission: Free
Sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery

Join us at our annual holiday gift fair with multiple vendors serving your alternative holiday needs including taxidermy, waxworks, anthropomorphic insect tableaux and more. Details soon! 
Full list and more information on all events can be found here. More on the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy can be found here. Image found here.

Middle image Sourced here.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Just in Time for the Holidays: Announcing the New Morbid Anatomy Museum Online Gift Shop!

Greetings, folks. Are you short of holiday gift ideas this year? Unsure where to get, say, Krampus-themed holiday cards? Or perhaps you are on the hunt for some large-scale, ready-to-frame color plates from a 19th century book on venereal and skin diseases, or tea cups based on microscopic images of the testicle, or memento mori rings, or funeral home anti-fainting kits, or photographs of Vodou ceremonies? Or maybe you might fancy some taxidermy, chocolate crow skulls, Masonic aprons, or Day of the Dead imports from our recent field trip to Mexico? Or perhaps--just perhaps!-- you require a handsome Morbid Anatomy tote bag or t shirt emblazoned with a distinctive fetal skeleton drawn from an 18th century book by Dutch "artist of death" Frederik Ruysch? 

If so, you are in luck, and here is why. It is because we have just launched The Morbid Anatomy Museum Gift Shop. And you can find all of these things--and many, many more!--on this gift shop by clicking here

And. Please note. This is only a first draft; we will be adding artists and objects weekly; click here to join our mailing list and be informed of updates. If you are interested in having your wares considered for sale on the site, please email info [at] morbidanatomymuseum.org.

Monday, September 9, 2013

New York Academy of Medicine Festival of Medical History and Arts on October 5th: Full Schedule and Tickets Now Available

The full schedule has just gone live for the October 5th New York Academy of Medicine Festival of Medical History and Arts, co-curated by Morbid Anatomy and Lawrence Weschler, former director of NYU Institute for the Humanities/Wonder Cabinet series and author of the amazing Mr. Wilson and his Cabinet of Wonders.

Full lineup follows; all talks are free and open to the public, with no registration needed; classes and after party do require tickets; follow the links for more. Hope very much to see you there!
New York Academy of Medicine Festival of Medical History and Arts
Curated by Morbid Anatomy and Lawrence Weschler
1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, New York, NY 10029 (Map)

Saturday, October 5

11 AM - 9 PM (including after-party)

SCHEDULE
Hosack Hall
Carl Schoonover and Michael Benson – A Cosmic/Neuronal Slapdown
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Neuroscientist Carl Schoonover (Portraits of the Mind) pits his laptop full of awe-inspiring electron-microscopic images of the brain against that of filmmaker/editor Michael Benson (Beyond, Far Out, and Planetfall), full as it is of stunning super-telescopic images of the solar system and the galaxies. (With musical accompaniment: the “Dueling Banjos” theme from Deliverance.)

Lawrence Wechsler and Bill Hayes – A Pair of Anatomy Lessons

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Art writer and curator Lawrence Weschler (Mr. Wilson and his Cabinet of Wonders) discourses on Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson and then engages essayist Bill Hayes in a conversation about the legendary anatomist Henry Gray (the subject of his book Gray’s Anatomy).

Dániel Margócsy – The Royal Treatment
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Starting out from a consideration of the exquisitely agonizing last hours of the French King Louis XIII (as evoked, at exquisite length, by Roberto Rossellini in his film The Taking of Power of Louis XIV), Hunter College historian Dániel Margócsy discusses what once passed for the height of medical care (bloodletting, stool analysis, leeches and the like) and compares it with our current practices.

Jane Gauntlett – What it Feels Like to Have an Epileptic Fit

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM
One day in 2005, Jane Gauntlett, a 25-year-old trainee theater producer from North London was brutally attacked while bicycling in broad daylight, robbed, and left for dead, with massive head injuries, in the gutter. She survived, recovered (albeit plagued by several grand mal seizures a week), and went on to develop a highly imaginative way of conveying the actual felt experience of such seizures (and other such medical episodes) to audiences throughout the world.

Oliver Sacks – The Guardian Spirits Behind Awakenings

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Following the screening of a new 15 minute documentary which filmmaker Bill Morrison culled from a box of over five hours of archival super-8 reels which Sacks himself shot at the time of the uncanny awakening of his wardful of postencephalytically entranced patients back in 1969 (set to music by Philip Glass), Oliver Sacks himself will discuss those days with curator Weschler, focusing in particular on the benign influence of two powerful mentors who held sway over his life during that period, the Soviet neuropsychologist A. R. Luria and the English poet W. H. Auden.

Riva Lehrer – On Coming Upon Oneself at a Museum of Medical Oddities
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Chicago artist Riva Lehrer has little business even being alive and may well be one of the last survivors of her original cohort, babies born with spina bifida back in 1958. Though having had to navigate life in foreshortened, corkscrewed body, regularly subject to harrowing complications, she has flourished not only as a superb portraitist but also as a highly prized lecturer in anatomy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her talk will start out from the unsettling experience last year of coming upon a fetal specimen very like herself on display at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.

Room 21

Salvador Olguín – An 18th Century Mexican Biography of Death

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
La Portentosa Vida de la Muerte (The Astounding Life of Death) is a rare, fantastically illustrated 18th century Mexican book in which author Joaquin Bolaños recounts, in an exuberant baroque style, the many adventures of Death, from her humble beginnings in the Garden of Eden, where she is said to have been born from Adam’s Sin and Eve’s Guilt, to her dramatic destruction on Judgment Day. The protagonist of the story is referred to as “The Empress of the Sepulchers,” and her deeds are recounted in a series of disjointed chapters. Banned by the Inquisition, the book and the engravings that illustrate it had a discernible influence on Mexico’s popular representations of death. This lecture will discuss this influential book, focusing on cultural attitudes towards death in Mexico from pre-Columbian times to the present day, touching on subjects such as Day of the Dead, rural Mexican post-mortem photography of the 1940s and ’50s, and the contemporary worshiping of Santa Muerte.

Elizabeth L. Bradley – The Pygmy and the Protoplasm: Eugenics Goes to the [Human] Zoo
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
The World’s Fairs that captivated the imagination of turn-of-the-century America were notable not only for their significant inventions (the telephone, the Ferris Wheel, cotton candy), but for their lavish anthropological exhibitions, which included large ethnographic enclosures featuring “exotic” natives from around the globe, living in recreated habitats and performing traditional acts for the benefit of thousands of curious, mostly Anglo-Saxon spectators. These “human zoos”, descendants of the villages nègres of Victorian colonial expositions, offered ethnographers a rare opportunity to observe, measure, and analyze other races—and their conclusions lent inspiration and encouragement to practitioners of the new discipline of eugenics, which soon saw field researchers traveling to the freak shows at Coney Island, that ne plus ultra of human zoos.

Dániel Margócsy – The Anatomy of the Corpse: Ruysch, Descartes, and the Problem of Wax

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM

This talk surveys early modern efforts to correctly visualize the human body. It brings into conversation Descartes’ philosophical musings on the nature of representation with the vibrant anatomical culture of the contemporary Dutch Republic, where the French philosopher resided for much of his adult life. For example, the physician Frederik Ruysch, famous for his macabre tableaus, worked throughout his life to produce a method of representation that was immune to Cartesian skepticism over reliability of images. The talk examines in detail Ruysch’s working methods with engraved illustrations and anatomical preparations, and explains why Ruysch hoped that these imaging techniques might offer a faithful representation of human life.

Mark Dery – Gray Matter: The Obscure Pleasures of Medical Libraries

12:30 – 1:00 PM
Medical libraries such as the New York Academy of Medicine’s offer ready access to a motherlode of “invisible literature,” the SF novelist J. G. Ballard’s term for medical textbooks, scientific journals, technical manuals, and other gray matter. Although it comprises a veritable galaxy in the universe of print media, invisible literature is nowhere to be found in general-interest bookstores, and is never reviewed in mainstream book pages for the simple fact that no one, not even the specialists who are its intended audience, thinks of this stuff as literature in the literary sense of the word. But what if we did?

Carl Schoonover – Premodern Neuroscience: Antiquity to Cajal
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Our understanding of the brain depends in large part on the tools that were invented to look at it. Confronted with an undifferentiated mass of gray, students of the nervous system have had to get clever and probe it in ingenious ways. This talk will present whirlwind survey beginning with the earliest attempts to interact with this extraordinarily complex organ, up to the seminal technical innovations in the late 19th century that launched the modern field.

Amy Herzog – Momento Mori: Reflections on Death and the Art of the Tableau
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM

This talk surveys a spectrum of artistic and museological dioramas, waxworks, and post-mortem photographic practices, and the hermetic, frozen worlds each offer to the viewer. There is something profoundly fetishistic, and mildly necrophilic, at the heart of the diorama, an apparent desire to encapsulate and reanimate those items on display. This paradoxical tension between preservation and regeneration seems germane to the 19th-century imagination in general, the moment at which many of the visual practices Herzog will discuss came into being. And while the diorama in particular is driven by a certain pedagogical directive, this talk will suggest that their lessons are more ambiguous than their creators likely imagined, and offer uncanny insights into our contemporary condition.

Marie Dauenheimer – 18th and 19th Century Anatomical Models in European Collection
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
This illustrated presentation will examine the art and history of the wax anatomical models of the “Museo Zoologico La Specola” in Florence, Italy. Over 2,000 wax models of human anatomy were created by the museum’s “Wax Modeling Workshop” from the mid 18th to early 19th century, and the products of their labor are considered by many to be the finest anatomical waxworks in the world. This presentation will address how and why these anatomical masterpieces were created, the artists and anatomists who created them, and the place of these collections in the history of anatomical art. The wax anatomical models of Bologna, which pre-date those of “La Specola,” and the dissectible papier-mâché anatomical models by Dr. Louis Auzoux will also be discussed.

Samuel Strong Dunlap – Peale’s Museum or Peale’s Museum in Philadelphia

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
From the beginning, Charles Willson Peale’s museum expressed a clear message of collection presentation arranged along the lines of the latest available scientific principles. Peale and his talented progeny were some of the last of the 18th century naturalists, when early professional scientists were just emerging. The very progressive educational and scientific approach of the Peales includes many interesting links with early evolutionist ideas and modern medicine.

Mike Sappol – Radiant modernity: An iconography of rays, beams, and waves, 1920-1960

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Between 1920 and 1960, as the technologies of industrial modernity proliferated, the public was gripped by a technomania for rays, beams, and waves. Electromagnetism, radioactivity, radio waves, X-rays, ultra-violet rays, infra-red rays, cosmic rays, gamma rays, brain waves–and all sorts of exotic, miraculous, and terrible rays soon to be discovered or invented–received effulgent representation in illustrated science-fiction, movies, comic books, and other entertainments. Popular science writer Fritz Kahn was among those enchanted with rays, beams, and waves, and eager to cater to his readers’ enchantment with the same. This talk will explore the use of such imagery in medical illustration of the time.

Colin Dickey – Cranioklepty: A Few Thefts of Some Famous Skulls

5:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Colin Dickey will tell the story of how the skulls of several famous musicians, artists, and writers were stolen in the early nineteenth century. Between 1790 and 1840, the skulls (or parts of thereof) of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Goya, and others were stolen by a strange mix of phrenologists and other collectors; Dickey will discuss these stories and the motivations behind these thefts.

Michael Johns – Experimenting with Death: An Introduction to the Terror Management Theory
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker suggested that the capacity to understand one’s mortality and the ways humans deal with this awareness could explain behaviors ranging from genocide to altruism. Terror Management Theory (TMT) was developed based on Becker’s work and provides a scientific framework for testing his idea about death as a core motivator of human behavior. Over the last 25 years researchers have conducted hundreds of studies to test hypothesis derived from TMT. These studies have examined how mortality salience influences behaviors ranging from aggression and stereotyping to creativity and sexuality. This lecture will introduce the theory and discuss experiments that have been conducted to test its tenets.

Daniel K. Smith – Anthropodermic Bibliopegy: Books Bound in Human Skin and the Stories Behind Them

6:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Due to their macabre nature, “anthropodermic bibliopegy”—or books bound in human skin—have been treated as curios and overlooked as objects of serious study. Most were created as examples or warnings, but some specific titles were sought out to be rebound in human leather by faddish collectors. Daniel K. Smith has examined, photographed and researched examples at Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum, The Grolier Club and The John Hay Library at Brown University, and found fascinating histories that illuminate worlds as diverse as grave-robbing, the King of Belgium, New England highwaymen, and 19th-century Parisian aristocracy.

ANATOMICAL WORKSHOPS (Registration Required)

Samuel Strong Dunlap – Dissection and Drawing Workshop With Real Anatomical Specimens
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Register Here.

Modern scientific dissection and illustrations commenced in the Renaissance. Basic anatomical dissection, illustration and knowledge are still fundamental in many fields such as evolutionary biology, surgery, quality medical schools, and forensic science.
In today’s workshop, we will dissect and draw a Didelphis virginiana–the North American opossum–a “living fossil” whose anatomy has remained virtually unchanged over the past 70 million years; this creature is considered to be a good model for a basal–i.e. early or original–mammal. Many comparative skeletal materials will be available for examination and illustration, and additional specimens may also be available. Gloves, scalpels and probes will be provided. Marie Dauenheimer, medical illustrator (and instructor of this afternoon’s carbon dust workshop), will assist with this workshop.

Lado Pochkhua – Dance of Death by Hans Holbein
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Register Here
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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.

Chris Muller – Comparative Anatomy: Animals and the Fundamentals of Drawing Weekend Workshop

3:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Register Here.

Using animal and human anatomy as a jumping off point, this course will look at the ground-level, first principles of drawing as representation. Focusing mainly on mammal anatomy, we’ll look at the basic shared forms between humans and other animals, how these forms dictate movement, and how to express those forms.

Marie Dauenheimer – Carbon Dust Drawing Workshop, Featuring Real Anatomical Specimens
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Register Here.

Carbon dust is a technique perfected by medical artist Max Brodel, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in the late 19th century. This technique–which, until the digital age, was an essential component of medical illustration education–allows the artist to create luminous, textural, three-dimensional drawings by layering carbon dust on prepared paper.

Today’s one-day intensive workshop will teach students the use of this all but forgotten medium, and guide each student in the creation of a finished work based on real anatomical specimens supplied by the instructor. The workshop will also include an historical lecture placing carbon dust drawings in the context of the history of anatomical and medical art. The instructor will provide all materials necessary for this workshop, and will also share finished carbon dust drawings.

After Party (Registration Required)
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Register Here.

Festival of Medical History and the Arts After-Party with open bar, medical-inspired tunes by DJ Friese Undine, and cartoons from the NLM's collections spanning the silent era to the early 1960s curated by historian Michael Sappol.

More on all can be found here.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Morbid Anatomy in Brooklyn: Newly Announced Classes and Workshops in the Arcane, The Taxidermic, and the Anatomical

Morbid Anatomy is delighted to announce a number of new Brooklyn-based workshops taking place in the weeks and months to come! Offerings include anthropomorphic insect shadowboxes, wearable and displayable taxidermy, and ex voto making; Full details on all follow. Hope to see you at one or more!

And as always, you can find a full event and workshop list on the Morbid Anatomy Facebook page by clicking here.
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Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop with Former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
With Daisy Tainton, Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History
Date: Saturday, June 22
Time: 1 – 4 PM
Admission: $75
***Must purchase tickets either in person or at http://beetleclass.bpt.me/
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?
You can find out more about all events here.

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Squirrel Taxidermy and the Ancient Technique of Wrapped Body with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Sunday, June 23
Time: 12 - 6.30
Admission: $275
***Maximum class size: 8 Students; Must RSVP to katie.innamorato [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

This class will introduce students to basic taxidermy processes. As with other classes, this is only open to 8 students to allow for a more intimate one on one environment. Each student will be provided with their own squirrel which they will skin, flesh, and prep for mounting. Students will be taught how to wrap bodies for the animals using the carcasses for reference. Wrapping is an old school traditional taxidermy process that many taxidermists do not bother with today. Pre-sculpted head forms will be available for students, but if they are feeling more adventurous they can carve their own! Students will be able to pose their squirrels however they want and are encouraged to bring in any props they may want to dress the animal up in, and items to secure their mounts on. Animal remains will be collected at the end of class and either the students can take them with them, or the instructor will dispose of them.

Rogue taxidermist Katie Innamorato has a BFA in sculpture from SUNY New Paltz, has been featured on the hit TV show "Oddities," and has had her work featured at La Luz de Jesus gallery in Los Angeles, California. She is self and professionally taught, and has won multiple first place ribbons and awards at the Garden State Taxidermy Association Competition. Her work is focussed on displaying the cyclical connection between life and death and growth and decomposition. Katie is a member of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, and with all M.A.R.T. members she adheres to strict ethical guidelines when acquiring specimens and uses roadkill, scrap, and donated skins to create mounts.

Her website and blogs-

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English Sparrow Taxidermy Class with Divya Anantharaman
Date: Sunday, June 30
Time: 12 – 6:00 PM
Price: $185.00
This class is part of  The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
In this class, students will create a fully finished mount from an English sparrow. An awfully cute, yet highly invasive species commonly seen in city and country alike, this class will cover introductory basic techniques used for small bird taxidermy. Each student will begin with their own sparrow, which they will proceed to skin, flesh, and mount in the pose of their choice. A selection of anthropomorphic and naturalistic props will be provided, although attendees are also welcome to bring their own, allowing the student to customize their bird. Students will create forms and poses using the technique of wrapping (a very traditional method of creating forms for small animals). We will also discuss the various methods of maintaining feet, beaks, and the delicate nature of grooming feathers. Reference images will be provided, though students are more than welcome to provide their own props and inspiration. We will also discuss federal and state bird laws, as well as the MBTA (a copy of which will be provided).

And please note: No animals were killed for the class.

Divya Anantharaman is a Brooklyn based artist whose taxidermy practice was sparked by a lifelong fascination with natural mythology and everyday oddities. After a journey filled with trial and error, numerous books, and an inspiring class (Sue Jeiven's popular Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class at Observatory!), she has found her calling in creating sickly sweet and sparkly critters. Beginning with mice and sparrows, her menagerie grew to include domestic cats, woodchucks, and deer. Recently profiled on Vice Fringes, the New York Observer, and other publications, she will also be appearing in the upcoming season of Oddities-and is definitely up to no good shenanigans. You can find out more at www.d-i-v-y-a.com.

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
Image found here.
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Traditionally Wrapped Body Pigeon or Quail Bird Taxidermy Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Sunday, July 7
Time: 12 – 6:30 PM
Price: $250
This class is part of  The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

This class will introduce students to basic small bird taxidermy processes. As with other classes, this is only open to 8 students to allow for a more intimate one on one environment. Each student will be provided with their own quail which they will skin, flesh, and prep for mounting. Due to the small and varying nature of these birds, we will be using the old school traditional technique of wrapping bodies for these birds. Students will learn how to mount a bird using its skull and learn how to preserve the skin and pose it. Legalities of working with birds and bird parts will also be discussed. A copy of the MBTA will be brought to class and passed around to students.

Katie Innamorato, artist and Rogue Taxidermist, is a member of the M.A.R.T. or Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists. She is professionally and self taught in taxidermy; winning awards and ribbons every year at the GSTA. She explores the commercial relationships between animals and our society and her work questions the idea of bringing nature inside. She also examines the cyclical connections between life and death, and growth and decomposition. As with all M.A.R.T. members she adheres to strict ethical guidelines when acquiring specimens. She uses roadkill, scrap skins from other taxidermists and the garment industry, and donated skins to create her artworks; almost every part of the animal is utilized.

Her work has been featured recently on the new Science Channel show, "Odd Folks Home," on the hit Science and Discovery Channel TV show, "Oddities," and exhibited at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.

Her website and blogs-

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Wearable Taxidermy Workshop with Beth Beverly, Rogue Taxidermist and Fashion Designer at Diamond Tooth
Date: Saturday, July 27
Time: 12 - 6:30 pm
Admission: $150
Must RSVP to RSVP Email: diamondtoothtaxidermist(at)gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Students will be provided with pre-skinned and tanned chicken hide elements (wings, tails, heads, etc) along with millinery hardware and all the glues, threads, chain, and miscellaneous decorative elements to create a one of a kind custom taxidermy headpiece.

Starting with the malleable hide parts, students will be instructed on how to manipulate, fill and and position the feathered sections while anchoring them to the metal hardware using foam mannequin heads (provided) for stability.  Millinery accents like netting, crinoline, jewels and metal embellishments can then be added to complete the students' own personal design, finishing off the workshop with instruction on lining the inside and adding a personalized garment tag.

Students will leave with their new wearable piece of fashion taxidermy, along with printed out lesson sheets and sourcing info so that they may employ these new skills for life.

Philadelphia’s premiere rogue taxidermist, Beth Beverly specialises in wearable taxidermy. Her hats have won awards at the Devon Horse Show, Brandywine Polo and Radnor Hunt Clubs. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, plus galleries such as La Luz de Jesus, Art in the Age and Michael Vincent Gallery. In 2010 Beverly won "Best in Show" at the annual Carnivorous Nights competition in New York. Currently featured as an "Immortalizer" on AMC's series about competitive taxidermy, she relishes in being photographed wearing her work and defying common stereotypes of taxidermists.

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Ex Voto Making Workshop with Master Jeweler Karen BachmannWith Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Date: Sunday, August 4
Time: 1 - 5 pm
Admission: $150
***Must pre-purchase tickets at http://exvoto.brownpapertickets.com; 8 person limit
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

An Ex-voto is an offering made in fulfillment of a vow, usually offered to a particular saint or other divinity. The term is Latin in origin, short for ex voto suscepto –“from the vow made." Ex-votos are placed in chapels, shrines, and other places of pilgrimage to offer thanks for blessings, healing, and to seek grace. Such places of pilgrimage have been found throughout history and in such diverse places as Egypt, Italy, and Mexico.

As ex-votos are often associated with miraculous healing, the forms they take reflect the healed body part. Hearts, lungs, legs, arms, heads, breasts, crutches, etc. often find themselves replicated in embossed and sometimes painted metal which adorn the walls of chapels in fantastic array. They are sometimes accompanied by written verse as well. Such ex-votos stand not only as tokens of thanks, but also as testaments of faith to other viewers.

This class will demonstrate how to construct from sheet metal an ex-voto of one’s own choosing. Using metal sheers and embossing tools, students will learn how to lay out a design and create their own individualized ex-voto suitable for hanging on a wall (chapel or otherwise). Metal and tools will be supplied. Samples will be shown, as well as anatomical images suitable for reproduction. Please bring sketchpad and pencil.

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 & 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.
Image found here.

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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.