BODIES: THE EXHIBITION presented by Seattle Theatre Group
We finally went to see Bodies: The Exhibition and while it is difficult to condense the impressions into only a few words all I can say is it was absolutely fascinating!
My parents had a chance to see the exhibit in Boston while visiting in the fall of last year and were very impressed. I was aware of another exhibit in New York that had been going on for months but that was yet another on the long list of things we never got around to seeing while living in the New York Metro area. So I was happy to find out that the same exhibit was also on display in Seattle, even if it took us months to finally make it there.
In the weeks leading up to our visit I read a plethora of reviews and articles relating to the exhibit including a seemingly endless number of arguments for and against it. I was particularly dismayed by a number of negative and at times primitive comments coming from people who had never even bothered to see the exhibit yet were ready to incohirently rant on about everything from the idea to how the exhibit was put together. I can understand people who object to the idea on principles and fully support their right to voice their opinions and argue against attending the exhibit. We were also aware of a number of political and cultural controversies surrounding the bodies in the exhibit. While all those points are worthy of discussion, we ultimately chose to see it as a scientific and educational exercise, as it seems did the other visitors we encountered in the galleries, among them curious children and patient parents, somewhat confused teenagers, medical students and artists (some of whom were making detailed sketches), couples, tourists. As such it was extremely well organized and very educational! It is one thing to see all the drawings in biology textbooks and anatomy atlases and completely another to be able to stand in awe face to face with a preserved human body or see and learn about various parts of human anatomy while marveling at its phenomenal complexity.
We finally went to see Bodies: The Exhibition and while it is difficult to condense the impressions into only a few words all I can say is it was absolutely fascinating!My parents had a chance to see the exhibit in Boston while visiting in the fall of last year and were very impressed. I was aware of another exhibit in New York that had been going on for months but that was yet another on the long list of things we never got around to seeing while living in the New York Metro area. So I was happy to find out that the same exhibit was also on display in Seattle, even if it took us months to finally make it there.
In the weeks leading up to our visit I read a plethora of reviews and articles relating to the exhibit including a seemingly endless number of arguments for and against it. I was particularly dismayed by a number of negative and at times primitive comments coming from people who had never even bothered to see the exhibit yet were ready to incohirently rant on about everything from the idea to how the exhibit was put together. I can understand people who object to the idea on principles and fully support their right to voice their opinions and argue against attending the exhibit. We were also aware of a number of political and cultural controversies surrounding the bodies in the exhibit. While all those points are worthy of discussion, we ultimately chose to see it as a scientific and educational exercise, as it seems did the other visitors we encountered in the galleries, among them curious children and patient parents, somewhat confused teenagers, medical students and artists (some of whom were making detailed sketches), couples, tourists. As such it was extremely well organized and very educational! It is one thing to see all the drawings in biology textbooks and anatomy atlases and completely another to be able to stand in awe face to face with a preserved human body or see and learn about various parts of human anatomy while marveling at its phenomenal complexity.
posted by Smile at the Rain at 1:29 PM
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