Body World’s exhibit
Body Worlds, a life-sized collage of the beauties and wonders of the human body, travels from place to place all over the world. An abundance of eye-opening, breathtaking wonder await all who attend this exhibit.
Gunther von Hagen, the creator of these magnificent preservations, was born Jan. 10, 1945 in Skalmierzyce, Kalisch, Poland. Dr. von Hagen is better known for his invention of plastination, which is a form of preserving bodies.
This archived article was written by: Caitlin Wright
Body Worlds, a life-sized collage of the beauties and wonders of the human body, travels from place to place all over the world. An abundance of eye-opening, breathtaking wonder await all who attend this exhibit.
Gunther von Hagen, the creator of these magnificent preservations, was born Jan. 10, 1945 in Skalmierzyce, Kalisch, Poland. Dr. von Hagen is better known for his invention of plastination, which is a form of preserving bodies.
There has been much controversy over the creation of this show and the way many of the cadavers are positioned and represented. It has been called “disrespectful” by some critics. Nevertheless, Dr. von Hagen has proceeded in delivering to the world a type of see-for-yourself exhibit that is both magnificent and informing.
Plastination is based on five basic steps: fixations, dehydration, forced impregnation, hardening and posing. After the body is embalmed to stop further decomposition, the body is placed in a bath of acetone. The acetone will remove and replace any water in the cells. The specimen is then placed in a bath of liquid polymer. By creating a vacuum, the acetone is made to boil at a low temperature. As the acetone vaporizes out of the cells, the liquid polymer is drawn in behind it, leaving a liquid plastic filled cell. The plastic must then be cured and the bodies are known as “plastins.” After this process takes place, the body can then be placed into its pose.
In the years the Body Worlds exhibits have been shown, more than 25 million people have visited the exhibits. It was first shown in 1995 in Tokyo and has since been hosted by more than 50 museums.
Body Worlds 2 & The Brain – Our Three Pound Gem (concerning the brain and nervous system) opened in 2005 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles and is currently at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart (concerning the cardiovascular system) opened on February 25, 2006, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. It is currently on tour at the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Body Worlds 4 debuted Feb. 22, 2008 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England and is at the Cureghem Cellars in Brussels.
Body Worlds & The Mirror of Time (featuring human development and ageing) will debut at The O2 in London in October 2008.
The Body Worlds exhibit is currently located in The Leonardo in the Old Salt Lake City Library. The address is 209 East and 500 South. The tour will end Jan. 21 so get your tickets soon. Tickets are sold at $22 for adults and $16 for ages 3-18.
Although these exhibits are not for the weak of stomach, they will marvel and amaze. The use of von Hagen’s plastination has made it possible for us to view what lies beneath. It has allowed us to gaze upon the human body in a state that otherwise might be impossible
