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Body Worlds The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies
BODY WORLDS The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies. Never before has an exhibition moved the public as profoundly and changed the view of personal corporeality as strongly as has Gunther von Hagens BODY WORLDS. Through the aesthetic presentation of real, anatomically prepared human bodies, the exhibition uses death to convey descriptive knowledge about life and lets it become a deeply impressive encounter with ones bodily interior. More than 26 million people worldwide, of which 6 million in Germany, have experienced this encounter. This catalog shows the anatomical specimens that have been prepared and preserved with a special technique invented by Gunther von Hagens. In addition to the medical-anatomical description of the human body, the catalog contains contributions to the topics of anatomy and plastination, posed specimens, and mandatory interment, as well as articles written by renowned scientists from the fields of anatomy and medical history, philosophy, aesthetics and art history, biology, and religious studies. The chapter about the anatomy and function of the human body is divided into the following 1. The Locomotive System 2. The Nervous System 3. The Respiratory System 4. The Cardiovascular System 5. The Digestive System 6. The Urinary Tract and Reproductive Organs 7. Prenatal Development 8. Whole-Body Plastinates
- GenresNonfictionReference
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 27, 2013
Not for everyone. However, it is a fascinating look at the human body. Those with an open mind would find it an interesting read or skim, as it is mostly pictures.
April 11, 2021
“Like the death of life in general, the death of the individual human being is neither mysterious nor profound. It is the end of a natural course. Admittedly, we can try to postpone this biological actuality with the aid of modern medicine and a healthy life-style, but we cannot avoid it. Our death is as natural as the aging and decline of the human body….”
I have wanted to visit the exhibition for years every since I discovered Body Worlds during my time at university as part of my research for one of my photography projects where I chose to focus around death and decay. While I was at work I was speaking to one of my regulars about the exhibition and how fascinated I was about it. The next day they brought in the book and said I could have it. I was over the moon. Last year I was finally going to go to Amsterdam but due to Covid I was unable to go.
I have wanted to visit the exhibition for years every since I discovered Body Worlds during my time at university as part of my research for one of my photography projects where I chose to focus around death and decay. While I was at work I was speaking to one of my regulars about the exhibition and how fascinated I was about it. The next day they brought in the book and said I could have it. I was over the moon. Last year I was finally going to go to Amsterdam but due to Covid I was unable to go.
June 18, 2013
Having visited the exposition Body Worlds: Vital twice while it was in town, I found myself enthralled with these renderings of the human form. As many people of my generation, I grew up attending classrooms in which Mr. Muscle kept silent vigil on a shelf. I read Zoobooks publications and some textbooks to see what musculature, organs, and the rest of the body looked like, but it seemed a bit fantastical to imagine the miracles beneath my own skin. Even in the echibit, I found myself thinking how they looked more like well-sculpted clay than actual specimens that once lived and breathed.
I first heard about plastination a decade or so ago on the "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" television show and was instantly intrigued by this process, which the book describes and illustrates with photos. I appreciated reading how the work began, especially as it connected to centuries-old practices, making it seem less an aesthetic endeavor than I originally believed it to be. Such arguments are also tackled in essay form within the text, making this more than some ghoulish picture book.
Although I do not have a job in the medical field due to an aversion to blood, this book has been fascinating but also quite useful. I have been able to see normal versus abnormal pictures or explanations of family medical conditions, such as carpal tunnel, a shoulder injury, and my father's heart surgery. My father had no idea what the structures of his heart looked like, and I was able to show him pictures with amazing detail taken from a number of angles so he would have more of an idea of what was happening and where. In the hospital waiting room, I was able to tell some other visitors about the structures of their own loved ones' aortas when I overheard them discussing the subject. They were surprised to hear I am a preschool teaching assistant and not studying nursing.
All in all, this is a wonderful book. I have looked it over with my own children, using a little discretion when needed. I would have liked to see many more pictures, but I don't think even a book with three times as many would appease my curiosity. I also thought it extremely odd to read about the future desire for von Hagens to find a terminally ill person who would allow himself or herself to be filmed expiring and being re-imagined postmortem as some sort of Frankenstein-like superhero with structural modifications for some future display. Still, I find myself looking at and sharing this book regularly and hope to do so for years to come.
I first heard about plastination a decade or so ago on the "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" television show and was instantly intrigued by this process, which the book describes and illustrates with photos. I appreciated reading how the work began, especially as it connected to centuries-old practices, making it seem less an aesthetic endeavor than I originally believed it to be. Such arguments are also tackled in essay form within the text, making this more than some ghoulish picture book.
Although I do not have a job in the medical field due to an aversion to blood, this book has been fascinating but also quite useful. I have been able to see normal versus abnormal pictures or explanations of family medical conditions, such as carpal tunnel, a shoulder injury, and my father's heart surgery. My father had no idea what the structures of his heart looked like, and I was able to show him pictures with amazing detail taken from a number of angles so he would have more of an idea of what was happening and where. In the hospital waiting room, I was able to tell some other visitors about the structures of their own loved ones' aortas when I overheard them discussing the subject. They were surprised to hear I am a preschool teaching assistant and not studying nursing.
All in all, this is a wonderful book. I have looked it over with my own children, using a little discretion when needed. I would have liked to see many more pictures, but I don't think even a book with three times as many would appease my curiosity. I also thought it extremely odd to read about the future desire for von Hagens to find a terminally ill person who would allow himself or herself to be filmed expiring and being re-imagined postmortem as some sort of Frankenstein-like superhero with structural modifications for some future display. Still, I find myself looking at and sharing this book regularly and hope to do so for years to come.
Read
October 10, 2015Many thanks go to good friends who visited the Body Worlds exhibit in Amsterdam, http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html , and brought back this book as a gift. It is an oddly appropriate and fantastical companion to another book I read in September, American Grotesque, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .
Gunther von Hagens, from pg. 22:
“Approximately 70% of our bodies consist of fluids. They are indispensable both for living and for decomposing. With plastination, fluids in our tissue are replaced by reactive plastics, such as silicone rubber, epoxy resin or polyester resin, in a special vacuum process. Body cells and the natural surface relief remain identical with their condition prior to preservation down to the microscopic level. The specimens are dry and odorless and are thus ‘graspable’ in the most literal sense of the word….
“With the invention of plastination, it has become possible for the first time to preserve natural anatomical specimens in a durable, realistic and aesthetic manner….
“Beyond their didactic qualities, plastinated specimens also radiate a certain fascination, based primarily on their authenticity. Plastination stops decomposition and dehydration so completely that the insides of bodies cease to be object of revulsion.…
“Plastination creates beautiful specimens as a sensuous experience that are frozen at a point between death and decay.”
Franz Josef Wetz, from pg. 220:
“Lifelessness is the norm in the cosmos, not a special circumstance; life, in contrast, is a borderline case. What is most natural for us humans - our own existence - is the great exception to which death is the rule.
“If the whole of reality were full of life, death would have to remain a puzzle because in that case it would not fit into the world. However, the real puzzle is life, because ever since the big bang the universe has consisted mainly of a field of inanimate particles and forces. Measured against the universe’s dimensions of time and space, the entire history of organisms known to us is a fleeting episode restricted to a tiny concentration of matter - the planet Earth.
“….
“Like the death of life in general, the death of the individual human being is neither mysterious nor profound. It is the end of a natural course. Admittedly, we can try to postpone this biological actuality with the aid of modern medicine and a healthy life-style, but we cannot avoid it. Our death is as natural as the aging and decline of the human body….”
Gunther von Hagens, from pg. 22:
“Approximately 70% of our bodies consist of fluids. They are indispensable both for living and for decomposing. With plastination, fluids in our tissue are replaced by reactive plastics, such as silicone rubber, epoxy resin or polyester resin, in a special vacuum process. Body cells and the natural surface relief remain identical with their condition prior to preservation down to the microscopic level. The specimens are dry and odorless and are thus ‘graspable’ in the most literal sense of the word….
“With the invention of plastination, it has become possible for the first time to preserve natural anatomical specimens in a durable, realistic and aesthetic manner….
“Beyond their didactic qualities, plastinated specimens also radiate a certain fascination, based primarily on their authenticity. Plastination stops decomposition and dehydration so completely that the insides of bodies cease to be object of revulsion.…
“Plastination creates beautiful specimens as a sensuous experience that are frozen at a point between death and decay.”
Franz Josef Wetz, from pg. 220:
“Lifelessness is the norm in the cosmos, not a special circumstance; life, in contrast, is a borderline case. What is most natural for us humans - our own existence - is the great exception to which death is the rule.
“If the whole of reality were full of life, death would have to remain a puzzle because in that case it would not fit into the world. However, the real puzzle is life, because ever since the big bang the universe has consisted mainly of a field of inanimate particles and forces. Measured against the universe’s dimensions of time and space, the entire history of organisms known to us is a fleeting episode restricted to a tiny concentration of matter - the planet Earth.
“….
“Like the death of life in general, the death of the individual human being is neither mysterious nor profound. It is the end of a natural course. Admittedly, we can try to postpone this biological actuality with the aid of modern medicine and a healthy life-style, but we cannot avoid it. Our death is as natural as the aging and decline of the human body….”
November 23, 2017
Amazing
December 17, 2018
Great book. Wonderful photos, and lots of information. Love it!! Worth your time and money if this is your thing.
August 31, 2009
Leaving aside all philosophical objections, this book was an invaluable addition to my reference books. The text is not especially deep, but the pictures are in many cases the only real alternative I've found to the slides shown in class and provide a better perspective of the organs and their relationships to the body as a whole.
I would recommend that every school for alternative medicine organize field trips to this exhibit (at least until they let us into dissections).
According to my own unscientific poll, children under age 10 have no problem reading this book and are fascinated to learn where their kidneys actually are.
Do not share this book with people over the age of 10/11 without warning them of the graphic nature of the contents.
I would recommend that every school for alternative medicine organize field trips to this exhibit (at least until they let us into dissections).
According to my own unscientific poll, children under age 10 have no problem reading this book and are fascinated to learn where their kidneys actually are.
Do not share this book with people over the age of 10/11 without warning them of the graphic nature of the contents.
December 11, 2010
The pictures alone are worth a thousand words, but there are a thousand words there too. I use this more as a skipping around book. The essays are "scientific" or propaganda or bursting with prose about the wonders of plastination. Putting aside all the philosophical arguments and issues, this works really well as an anatomy book, as well as reminding me of some of the exhibit. The first time I saw the BodyWorlds exhibit I was appalled at the gift shop at the end. The second time I understood (or fooled myself) into thinking it was ok to take a little piece of it home with me. I was the only one in the gift shop buying the book though. A few years later I'm still glad I mustered up the courage and did it.
February 1, 2011
Not for everyone! This book is mostly photographs of real bodies and body parts that have undergone "plastination." This is a process that preserves all body parts by replacing the fluid with a polymer. The process was invented and refined by Gunther Van Hagens in Germany. The bodies and parts are carefully dissected and displayed for anatomical study and exhibit. I went to two different exhibits and thought they were amazing. Mostly human, but some animal specimens are included. Excellent for any high school anatomy class or students interested in anatomy.
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January 5, 2009While I haven't read it cover to cover, it's more of a jump around in type book; I like it. I really like the essays in the back. I still have questions from seeing the exhibit, but this book did answer most of them.
December 30, 2012
Catalogue which was produced for original Body Worlds exhibition - seen at Old Truman Brewery in London in 2002-2003.
Lots of colour photos of exhibits plus text to give context to anatomy and physiology displayed. Also has 9-10 essays giving further information on anatomy, function and ethics.
Lots of colour photos of exhibits plus text to give context to anatomy and physiology displayed. Also has 9-10 essays giving further information on anatomy, function and ethics.
March 9, 2009
I love anatomy! this book was amazing!!
April 4, 2015
Intriguing, but lots of difficult words and philosophizing on art and human dignity.
Mainly pictures, however also some supporting text.
Mainly pictures, however also some supporting text.
August 26, 2011
My favorite anatomy reference. The pictures and descriptions are great. It is easy to understand and to reference. Love. Love. Love.
July 2, 2012
This was a fascinating collection and the exhibit was amazing. You have to see this to appreciate the human body and all that it does!
February 6, 2015
This book is awesome and a little creepy - now you'll know exactly what your liver looks like in cross-sections, etc. Strangely fascinating!
April 11, 2015
Amazing photographs and history of plastination. A few good but dense essays on the controversy surrounding the practice and exhibition.
September 18, 2018
Interesting but not for the feint hearted!
January 24, 2009
A great resource (and exhibition) for understanding anatamy and muscle structure.
May 4, 2014
Simply fascinating. Gave me a real appreciation of my own body. Must see exhibit!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews