Come see the death

“Death is the only true democracy – everyone gets a vote, and no one can abstain.”(Hagens, 2001)

The controversial “Real Human Bodies” exhibition, known for its plastination-preserved human specimens, has sparked numerous debates. Curator Gunther von Hagens’ wife, Angelina Whalley, stated that the exhibition was not intended to sensationalize, but rather to provoke thought and clearly explain the meaning of being human. Each corpse is accompanied by a brief research explanation.

However, this artistic exhibition has received considerable opposition. German authorities consider it merely a publicity stunt, a French judge ruled that exhibiting the dead for profit “violates respect for people,” and a German Chancellor stated that such exhibitions “damage human dignity.”

(There was a pregnant woman’s corpse; her abdomen had been cut open, revealing the body of the fetus.)

Hagens claims that all these bodies came from people who voluntarily agreed to be used in this way. This may not be the case: he has been accused of buying the bodies of Chinese prisoners of war and purchasing bodies from prisons and mental hospitals without formal family consent.

In early 2008, during an interview with ABC News, he stated that he had re-examined the source of the bodies and had stopped using bodies from China; some bodies with head injuries had been destroyed.

This exhibition straddled the line between human art and criminal acts. Undeniably, it presented moral uncertainties and questions of its legitimacy on a societal level. If religion were to be involved, Gunther von Hagens’s actions would be numerous and inexcusable, as he desecrated corpses in many religious senses while arguing it as art.
However, is this exhibition meaningless? As his wife said, the exhibition’s significance lies in prompting reflection and clarifying the meaning of being human. Indeed, unless one works in a related field or industry, perhaps most of us lack a clear understanding of our physical structure as human beings. Most people may not realize the complex yet beautiful workings of our bodies behind our daily lives, a series of systems seamlessly integrated and perfectly divided, sustaining life.

This is not some form of justification, but in Hagens’ words, “My specimens are not dead – they have merely ceased to live.” He believes that even though these specimens are no longer defined as living by the world, they still have inspirational and educational value, achieving immortality in some form and bringing about change to the world.