Censoring the Body

While doing research for a term paper I read a great essay by the art critic and historian, Edward Lucie-Smith. He is someone with the ability to look over history and pull out key ideas, trends and shifts in ways of thinking.
He begins his essay with the observation, "from the earliest times, humans have found it difficult to represent their own bodies in a straightforward way" and he continues to bring his observations of censorship of the body up until the present day. He raises lots of provocative ideas.

Gunther von Hagen's Bodyworlds Exibition, Edmonton, Alberta

We drove up to Edmonton for Thanksgiving with family. While there we took in Gunther von Hagen's Bodyworlds exhibition, http://www.bodyworlds.com/ . Over the last weekend the Science Centre was open 24/7 to cope with the crowd of people wanting to see it. Along with the many other procrastinators we lined up and filed in at 10:45 p.m and emerged nearly 3 hours later in a state of awe.

The atmosphere created by the gentle, murmuring, moving, packed in spectators was an experience in itself. The only other time I have experienced such a hushed reverence combined with a vibrating static in the air was when I filed past Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party.Having spent the summer wrestling with drawing the human body, I was totally absorbed and fascinated by what I saw. I came away with an even greater admiration for artists who can capture the complexity of the human form in a drawing.
The above image is of a rabbit but only its blood vessels. Red plastic was pumped through its entire blood system. Once this plastic hardened, all its organs, tissues, bones etc were removed, leaving the blood system in tact.
If I am ever again anywhere near a Bodyworlds exhibition I will certainly visit it again.

More Artawearness IIX

Kris Hold, a 4th year sculpture student, crocheted "authentic smelling twine & translucent fishing line to build structural pieces that cover human bodies." In this image I love the way the backs of the heads of those in the audience mimic the textures in the structural pieces.

She is exploring "human form & sculpture", a relationship made all the more dynamic by her startling choreography.