I don't often read the newspaper, so I found out from some friends on Monday that the Bodies Exhibit has been forced by the NY Attorney General to post the following disclaimer at its NYC exhibit entrance and website:
Disclaimer: This exhibit displays human remains of Chinese citizens or residents which were originally received by the Chinese Bureau of Police. The Chinese Bureau of Police may receive bodies from Chinese prisons. Premier cannot independently verify that the human remains you are viewing are not those of persons who were incarcerated in Chinese prisons.
This exhibit displays full body cadavers as well as human body parts, organs, fetuses and embryos that come from cadavers of Chinese citizens or residents. With respect to the human parts, organs, fetuses and embryos you are viewing, Premier relies solely on the representations of its Chinese partners and cannot independently verify that they do not belong to persons executed while incarcerated in Chinese prisons.
Worse, yes it gets worse: in China, the families of executed prisoners, when they are even notified of the death at all, have a choice: pay for the room and board of the prisoner’s incarceration, including the bullet used for execution, or receive a large sum of money for the body parts.
I am horrified that people can know this and still pay almost $30 to see the exhibit. I am horrified that the exhibitors know this and still collect the money instead of immediately closing the shows, which are all over the world.
That is what yesterday's post is about. Like I said it is not pretty, but perhaps sometimes outrage can be a form a beauty? What do you think?
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Valerie - I first encountered this exhibition in Germany. I saw the flier, which had an intriguing image, but what I didn't know (because everything was in German) was that these Bodies were once living persons; and as you point out, non-consensual living persons. So what do I think? As a viewer and lover of all living things I think this exhibition is appalling, disgusting and offensive.
ReplyDeleteAs a museum professional who works on art exhibitions I find it equally offensive. In a legitimate exhibition, every object that goes on display has a clear and documented provenance. This record is a permanent history of where the object is from and where it’s been. Since these bodies are without similar records I must believe that they were acquired for this show in unscrupulous ways. And I can’t under those circumstances support any exhibition especially one that so disregards human life and death.
Blessings and abundance to those that are forced to make such horrid economic decisions about their loved ones.
xoxo
I agree with you that the fact that this exhibit is still open is appalling. I was never drawn to see it but now that I know that the bodies that are there were torture victims...no way. The non consensual part of it is iffy for me since then you have to think of all the mummies in the museums. did they consent to be there? anyway to me it's more the fact that they were tortured and the families forced to sell the bodies that bothers me. :(
ReplyDeleteThank Lauren and Paola for your responses. I don't know what else to say. I appreciate Lauren's approach as curator; and Paola your comment about mummies opens up a whole other issue, much like zoos in my book.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with me something so dark; we need the courage not to avert our gazes.