On the same day we went to Griffith Park and hiked the Mount Hollywood trail, Ching and I visited the California Science Center located at the Exposition Park in Los Angeles. This is in the same location as the Stadium used in the 1984 Summer Olympics hosted by the city.We saw the much talked about Bodyworlds, "an exhibition of real human bodies," which has raised issues of ethics, sensibility, censorship and whatever else the US Presidential Campaign may have missed. This controversy was discussed immediately at the door with some assurance from the State of California that they have weighed these issues along with the documentation and authentication from the proponents of the Exhibit and deemed that it is a viable scientific endeavor notwithstanding.
Trusting the State's judgement on this, we walked in to the "The Story of the Heart" and took our time through the 200+ real human specimens before us. The overall atmosphere of the Exhibit was just that, these are specimens. It did not really trigger thoughts that these were people who had families and lived a purposeful life before plastination. It was a curious scientific display with clear attempts to artistry.
One does not really know what to expect from human bodies cut up with surgical precision, but what could you find inside? Not to defeat the purpose of the Exhibit, but the displays do not really show anything different from those glossy medical books. What I thought was most beneficial were the 'warnings', not subtly illustrated, about taking care of our bodies against pollution, abuse or neglect. What is truly fascinating is the process of plastination itself which takes enormous time and resources to do, and a real collaboration of art and science.
Stop-Look-Listen: the display of fetal development from one week to near birth, amazing to see how a half-inch two week old fetus is a real person; the darkening of the lungs caused by smoking and pollution (gulp, as a former Hong Kong resident for years I got worried); how fat cells permeates both inside and outside your organs.
A curious end to the Exhibit is a station where you can fill out legal forms in case you want to donate your body to plastination. Do I really want my cadaver in an enclosed glass with a sign that says "A Full-Grown Adult of South Asian Origin. This is not a scale model?" No, thanks.
2 comments:
Ting, you're such a hoot! I'm enjoying your SoCal experience vicariously, which is fun. But equally fun is looking for your quirky comments that leaving me laughing :) You've got a gift with words! Keep it comin'!
Hi Ting, a similar exhibit was on in Munich one time. But, I did not have the guts to go and see it. Reading your account of it now makes me think I should give it a try next time there is an opportunity. I am missing you here in HK but can see clearly that you are having a grand time there!
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