What’s in a name?

I had been meaning to mention this before now but, sometimes things wind up falling into the cracks. My friend who now has the alter-ego of Mom de Guerre has been crusading against these exhibits. At first, I have to admit to not quite understanding why she was so terribly upset. I had seen the bus ads for the exhibit here in New York and I believe I even read an article about it - it sounded a bit interesting. Certainly something to check out again if I got around to it. However, my friend was terrribly, terribly upset by it all.

As she laid things out to me, it was easy to see why.

Real people. Used without consent.
Cynics call it “corpse art.” But Bodies:The Exhibition and Gunther Von Hagen’s Body Worlds call their shows “educational.” Everyone agrees it’s profitable. More than $2 billion.

This is a complicated story but, it involves the son of a Nazi (who changed his name to escape his family’s infamy), a Chinese doctor with little scruples and the wholesale use of the bodies of prisoners without their consent after they were killed. It’s the kind of story that at first made me think of Soylent Green or Coma except this stuff is really happening and is being disguised as some kind of art when the truth behind it is a lot gorier.

I know the signs for the show are everywhere around town, I’m not going to give them free publicity though. I have to respect my friend’s efforts though. This time last year I was both commiserating and brainstorming with her about the avenues her crusade might take. Now, a year later after an appearance on ABC’s 20/20 she is seeing results!

New York State is cracking down on controversial museum exhibits. Last September, the Rochester Museum and Science Center hosted “Our Bodies” exhibit. It showed specially embalmed bodies and is used to educate the public on human anatomy. Rumors swirled that the bodies in other exhibits, not “Our Bodies” were illegally obtained in China, and that the humans these bodies once were never consented to be part of the exhibit. That’s why state senators passed a bill that would require anyone showing an exhibit that uses real human bodies in museums across New York to get a permit to show where exactly the bodies came from. Senator Jim Alesi (R-Perinton) says, “It’s human dignity and I think it’s also consumer protection because if people knew the origins, if they’re suspect, then they probably would be less likely to go to some kind of display like that.” Senator Alesi sponsored the “bodies exhibit” legislation.