The debut display of BODIES The Exhibition at Tampa’s Museum Of Sciene & Industry (MOSI) August 20, 2005 and staying through February, 2006 has people talking and filling motions.
Members voted 4-2 against the exhibit saying they were uncomfortable that neither the deceased nor their families granted formal permission for them to be used in a museum. Premier Exhibitions of Atlanta argues that the board, which oversees the use of cadavers at Florida medical schools, has no jurisdiction over the Tampa museum. The critical question centers around the origin of the 20 bodies and the body parts that make up the exhibit.
"The corpses belonged to Chinese people whose bodies went unclaimed or unidentified before being turned over to a medical school in China", according to Premier.
Company attorney Brian Wainger sent a letter to the board saying that the bodies were "obtained legally and handled properly." According to Wainger, Dalian Medical University, which handled them, certified that all died of natural causes and none were prisoners. The bodies are preserved with a process that replaces human tissue with silicone rubber. Arnie Geller, Premier president and CEO, said displaying the plasticized bodies is no different than displaying mummies in a museum. The mummies just happen to be thousands of years older.
Documents presented to the board show that the Chinese government endorsed the use of "these exact specimens" when they were displayed in a museum in Beijing. Premier will provide letters from the museum that displayed the specimens and the Chinese Anatomical Association, which also "approved of the exhibition there."
"We will fight for the right to present this exhibition, and we will fight for the right of the people of Florida to see this exhibition," Geller said .
A similar exhibit, Body Worlds, in San Francisco caused a huge controversy after bodies began dripping human fat and silicone.
It will be in Chicago until September 5.
2 comments:
Very interesting fact is the Bodies show is produced by a public company called Premier Exhibitions trading as PXHB.OB. I checked it out and it looks like the stock is severely undervalued and with this kind of success the company and the stock are about to take off. They are the same people who put on the Titanic show and they are the ones who did the sea expeditions to salvage the Titanic artifacts. Very cool company!
Anyone follow this story since August? The Bodies show is now opening in NYC on 11/17/05. And their PXHB stock I mentioned has doubled since August with no end in sight because their earnings are blowing the roof off and they are severely undervalued. What a ride! Beautiful shows worthy of great success. Maria
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