DEAD CHINESE PEOPLE BECOME ART EXHIBITS

For $19.95, I See Dead People

The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida is showcasing an exhibit called "BODIES, the Exhibition," which features twenty actual human cadavers from China with their skin replaced with a clear plastic substance that exposes their internal organs. The bodies are displayed in poses like "Soccer Player" and "Running Man" (pictured above).

According to the Chinese government, the cadavers are Chinese people who died of natural causes and whose bodies went unclaimed or unidentified before being turned over to a medical school in China. Whatever. Given China's sketchy human rights record, I am a bit skeptical of these claims. If I were at this exhibit, I'd be checking for tank bruises.

The museum is defying a decision of the Florida Anatomical Board, which regulates the distribution of cadavers for research and education. The Board voted 4-2 to deny approval for the exhibit, but museum officials don't think the board has authority to block the exhibit and told members to drop dead.

One might argue that the public display of actual cadavers isn't anything new: King Tut's family probably didn't want his body being paraded around for tourists. (Nor would they be thrilled that he is best remembered as being "born in Arizona" and "moved to Babylonia.") But then again, King Tut's children, who probably didn't inherit their father's funkiness, aren't alive today. And there was no chance that King Tut was a revolutionary political prisoner held in captivity by an oppressive government.

--Junichi