June 13, 2007
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Lifelike poses exposing specially preserved
corpses and body parts are used to educate
and fascinate visitors at Body Worlds 3, the
third installment of a popular global exhibit,
visiting Portland for the first time, now until
October 7.
Art, Anatomy and Controversy
Body Worlds
visits OMSI
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Take a moment to thank the dearly
departed who were willing to donate their
bodies to science. Their ultim ate post­
mortem sacrifice-com bined with medical
breakthroughs that actually allow scien­
tists to preserve bodies with plastic -
brings us the im m ensely popular travel­
ing exhibition Body W orlds, a fascinating
glim pse into the inner-w orkings o f the
human machine.
The folks at Body W orlds have brought
the third installment o f the exhibit to Port­
land forthe first time, appearing at Oregon
Museum o f Science and Industry until
Oct. 7. This has made the folks at OMSI
very happy, as museum president Nancy with tumors, tar and arthritis, and you may question whether donors are always gener­
Stueber has w orked for years to bring the seriously regret that week of exercise you ously willing to give their bodies to this form
high-profile exhibit to the Rose City.
skipped or those doughnuts and cigarettes of science, education and entertainment, as
Described as “a towering achievement in you recently indulged in.
von Hagens says they are.
the field o f anatomical science and an un­
But on the other hand. Body Worlds shows
At a press conference at the opening of the
precedented gaze at hum anity,” Body us just how beautiful and functional our bod­ exhibit last week, von Hagens fielded ques­
Worlds uses real bodies to reveal anatomi­ ies are. For example, "The Archer” features a tions of whether Body Worlds is sensational
cal snapshots of everyday movements -
woman with nearly every muscle flexed, hav­ or disrespectful.
walking, dancing and even skateboarding.
ing just released an arrow from her bow. She
“Sensational? Yes!” he said, adding, "we
Much more than just formaldehyde. Body looks like the picture of health as she leans are grasped by our senses, and this trans­
Worlds creator Dr. Gunther von Hagens back with adetermined look of concentration, forms into a deep interest in our bodies.”
invented “Plastination” in 1977 to halt the except that she also has her brain sitting atop
As for claims of disrespect, von Hagens
decomposition of the body and preserve it her head. Many of the bodies are manipulated believes it would be highly disrespectful not
forever. First presented in Tokyo in 1995, in a way so visitors can see how muscles work to have these bodies on display.
von Hagens has taken his bodies on the road but also get the most unencumbered view.
“I’m doing this foran educational benefit,”
to promote his technique and teach the
Body Worlds, to date, has attracted 22 he said repeatedly.
living about w hat’s really going on under million visitors worldwide, with another
Whether Body Worlds 3 is appealing, ar­
our skin.
4(X),(XX) expected at the Portland exhibit. But tistic, educational or abhorrent is in the eye of
But you may also find Body Worlds not everyone is as excited as these millions, or the beholder. Take a visit and you may find it
3...gross. The kind of gross you’ll find in as happy to sec the exhibit as Stueber of to be all of the above.
those graphic anti-smoking ads. Displays of OMSI. Body Worlds critics run the gamut
Body Worlds 3 will be featured at OMSI,
healthy organs and various body parts are from religious groups who feel the displays
1945 S.F. Water Ave. through Oct. 7. For more
compared side-by-side with those wrought denigrate human life, to ethics groups who informationvisitwww.omsi.org.