From the name Body Worlds Show, I expected a body builder competition of thoroughly tanned oiled physiques. But instead it's an exhibition of plastinated skinless cadavers (though probably with the same muscle-fat ratio as a body builder.) One plays chess with part of his cranium falling off. Another raises his arm lifting his flayed skin. Last week, a German was acquitted for his attack on a sculpture called, "The Organ Donor," which was a man holding his liver.
The creator of the exhibit is Dr. Gunther von Hagens, who created the plastination process where the fluids of the body are replaced by resins. He looks more like mortician than a medical doctor. The black hat certainly doesn't help.
Most of the bodies were donated directly to Dr. Hagens Institute of Plastination although some critics speculate that some bodies bought from medical institutes may those of prisoners, homeless or the mentally insane.
"It will democratise anatomy," Hagens claims, "make us understand our bodies better....They have to see it in a tasteful manner and not bottled up like pickles."
Hagens' sculptures are perfectly lean figures, nothing like you would find here. If he brings the show to the US, hopefully, he'll do make an American line of cadavers covered in puffy yellow lipids.
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