The Body As Art
BODY WORLDS and The Cycle of Life is the latest exhibition from physician and pioneering anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens, and includes specimens from Utah. The exhibit, showing now at the Leonardo in downtown Salt Lake City, celebrates the wonders of the body in childhood, adulthood and across the arc of aging. It will close on Sunday, March 8. More than 200 plastinates—real human specimens preserved through Dr. von Hagens’ invention, the process of Plastination—reveal the human body in all its stages and in all its conditions.
Chief marketing officer for the Leonardo Erika Callahan said the exhibition has gone very well and the feedback has been tremendous. The museum is expecting an increase in visitors towards the end of the run and Arches Health Plan is sponsoring a price of $9.95 with promo code Arches.
Each BODY WORLDS exhibition contains real human specimens, including whole-body plastinates as well as individual organs, organ configurations, and transparent body slices. The plastinates in the exhibition take the visitor on a journey of discovery under the skin. It provides wide-ranging insight into the anatomy and physiology of the human body. In addition to organ functions, common diseases are described in an easily understood manner by comparing healthy and affected organs. They show the long-term impact of diseases and addictions, such as tobacco or alcohol consumption.
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Here are the facts and figures on BODY WORLDS:
- Plastination was invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens in 1977 at the University of Heidelberg, Germany and has continuously been developed since then.
- Plastination is a technique that stops the decomposition of the dead body and produces solid, odorless and durable anatomical specimens for scientific, medical and public instruction without the use of glass barriers or formaldehyde.
- A whole-body plastinate requires approximately 1,500 working hours to complete.
- The first exhibition was held in Japan in 1995.
- BODY WORLDS exhibitions have been seen in more than 70 cities in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
- Currently there are NINE BODY WORLDS exhibitions on display in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
- Forty million people have seen BODY WORLDS, including more than 14 million in America.
- Von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS exhibitions stem from the Institute for Plastination’s established body donation program, through which the body donors specifically request that their bodies be used for Plastination in medical teaching, instruction and public exhibitions.
- There are 13,948 registered body donors to the Institute for Plastination, the majority are German, and there are more than 1,400 Americans on the list.
The Leonardo is at 209 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City. More information is available from theleonardo.org or bodyworlds.com, or by calling The Leonardo on 801.531.9800.
