The dead art lives again

More than 20 skinned human beings are arranged around the room in various poses. One is kicking a soccer ball. Another one is in the "Thinker" position, kneeling with its chin on its fist. Yet another has one hand on its hip and his other hand in the "thumbs-up" position. Their muscles and bones are all completely visible. They stare eerily at museum patrons. Shocked? Good.\nThis must have been the aim of Gunther von Hagens, the man who invented "plastination," a revolutionary new method of preserving the human body. He has created a traveling exhibit of cadavers, called "BODIES...The Exhibition," to display his techniques and to educate the public about the art of the human body. The exhibit has been to the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Tampa Bay, Fla., the Atlanta Civic Center, the South Street Seaport in New York and is currently in London. Each show has brought record crowds -- and controversy. \nIn the preservation process, all body water is absorbed from the corpses and replaced with silicone to create a model -- a once-living sculpture of muscles, bones and viscera -- that will not decay. They cannot just use plastic replicas because they "don't allow for any variation in structure," according to the official Web site for the exhibition. \n"As medical students and individuals have less time for the study of anatomy, it is even more important to have these unique specimens."\nIf medical students are not studying anatomy, then what are they studying? Cadavers are dissected in medical school. This is necessary for our future doctors' education. But why would anyone choose to display the cadavers in a museum? It is not in the name of science or art. It is purely for shock value and monetary gain. Ticket prices are approximately $20 for adults. \nWhat makes this display even more despicable is the questionable source of these bodies. Their Web site states that all of the bodies were obtained legally from the Dalian Medical University of Plastination Laboratories in the People's Republic of China. \nThe online newspaper, Guardian Unlimited, is based in London. It picked up on this story and reported that, "In China it is not illegal to use the bodies of political prisoners for commercial purposes." \nAlice O'Keefe wrote the story April 2, saying, "the Chinese government outlawed the sale of human organs last week after widespread criticism of their practice of 'harvesting' organs from political prisoners."\nAt the time when the exhibition was created, therefore, it was perfectly legal to buy human bodies from the Chinese government. Perhaps even before they were dead. \nTo use a cadaver for medical purposes in America, it must be unclaimed or the person must give "informed consent" before they die. I wonder if the people whose bodies are seen by thousands of viewers each day knew that their corpses would be sold in comical poses on T-shirts and keychains. I wonder if the man, whose muscular system and skeletal system are detached and displayed holding "hands," knew that his remains would be seen by the world this way. \nIn an article in the August edition of National Geographic, Roy Glover, the chief medical advisor and spokesperson for the exhibition, said, "Many people consider the human body itself a work of art. Of course, art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. We leave it to the public to form their own opinions."\nIf you want to form your own opinion, you can visit www.bodiestheexhibition.com. The body is a work of art, but this display isn't. It is a sick show of human remains.