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Tracing the Body in Body Worlds, the Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies

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Tracing the Body in Body Worlds, the Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies ANATOMY OF SPECTATORSHIP: TRACING THE BODY IN BODY WORLDS, THE ANATOMICAL EXHIBITION OF REAL HUMAN BODIES by Rebecca Scott Bachelor of Arts, Simon Fraser University, 2005 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Communication © Rebecca Scott 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Rebecca Scott Degree: MA Titles: Anatomy of Spectatorship: Tracing the Body in Body Worlds, the Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Peter Chow-White Assistant Professor, School of Communication Dr. Kirsten McAllister Assistant Professor School of Communication Dr. Zoe Druick Associate Professor School of Communication Dr Kimberly Sawchuk Associate Professor Department of Communication Studies Concordia University Date: ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the pUblic at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for pUblic performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and pUblishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 200/' Abstract Body Worlds is an exhibition of real, recently-deceased, dissected and posed human bodies. Far from being just educational, as Body Worlds purports them to be, I argue that the bodies are stripped of social and affective meaning in favor of scientific understandings. I conduct a genealogy of the exhibition, outlining its preferred reading and subject. I then explicate the process of spectatorship as a specific kind of seeing called the autopsic gaze. The preferred reading and subject and the autopsic gaze constitute a process of control of the body and its meaning. I refer to this as closure. Seeking to problematize closure, I develop a counter reading strategy, called critical spectatorship, which uncovers lost elements of the exhibition, called traces, that defy the preferred reading. I deploy critical spectatorship to construct a counter reading through the lens of affect. I also comment on different theoretical approaches to the body. Keywords: Body Worlds; the body; genealogy; affect; science studies; the gaze; anatomy III ~TOAlejandrO Yoshizawa Always longing to dig in the garden, pickfigs, and have tea and hot chocolate with you. iv Acknowledgements It has been my absolute privilege and joy to have been supported and loved by the wondertul people I have in my life. My gratitude and love is exponentially greater than the words here can express. I would like to thank my senior supervisor, Dr. Kirsten Emiko McAllister. As a supervisor, she supported me and my work from the beginning, carefully guiding me while always giving me the freedom to go my own way in every facet of my work, and her rigorousness and creativity inspired me to innovate with my thinking. Yet she has been more than just a dedicated supervisor: she has been a friend, mentor and confidant, her wisdom and care helping me through tough times. I could not have hoped for a better supervisor, and I aspire to be as dedicated a mentor as her in my own life. To Dr. Zoe Druick lowe much gratitude. As my supervisor, she always took the time to comment on my work and carefully guide me. Her enthusiasm for my work encouraged and inspired me, and it's been my privilege working with her. I would like to thank Dr. Kim Sawchuk, my external examiner. Not only did she take the time to read and comment on my work, she also provided me with challenging questions and encouraging praise. Karen Scott, Mum, you are my heart. Your love, resolved and indestructible, is the principle by which you live your life and that inspires me every day. You are also fun, cute, and make good soup. I couldn't love you more. v Blendle Scott, Daddy, you are my rock. You are wonderful, warm, and sensitive. You are sweet, funny and caring. Thanks for driving the boat for us and always offering to "buy me a pony." I love you. To Katie and Sara, thanks for being my sisters. You guys are my best friends and I'm glad I have you. My sweet little one, Dody, I love you. Naomi and Claudio Vidal, it has been ajoy to have you in my life. You have done so much to support me and Alejandro and we couldn't thank you enough. Natasha, I've had the privilege of watching you grow up to be a wonderful and sweet woman. Thank you to my wonderful friend Michael Phillips. You have made life provocative and I couldn't imagine it without you. I got nothing to do today but smile... Thank you to the wonderful friends I made in the School of Communication. Terry Neiman, it's been my pleasure and privilege working with you. You are also a special friend and mentor. I had a lot of fun with my cultural studies and Stream journal folk: Ben Woo, Danielle Deveau, Siobhan Quinn, Rob Rao and Dylan Mulvin. You guys are great people and I am so thankful I met you. I have a lot of love for Dr. Habiba Zaman; she has been a wonderful teacher and caring friend. lowe a lot of thanks to the many people at SFU who helped me in big and small ways: Dr. Helen Leung, Dr. Mark Winston, Dr. Gary McCarron, Neena Shahani, Lucie Menkveld, Denise Vanderwolf, Monique Cloutier and Penny Simpson. Finally, Alejandro Yoshizawa, lowe you more thanks and love than I could pay back in a lifetime. I love you, crazily. VI I would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the School of Communication at SFU, the Office for the Dean of Graduate Studies at SFU, the Faculty of Applied Sciences at SFU, and Dr. Kirsten McAllister for financially supporting my MA and the writing of this thesis. VB Table of Contents Approval ii Abstract iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents viii List of Figures ix Introduction 1 Background 5 Study Delimitation 8 Literature Review 10 The Body 10 Body Worlds 15 Methodology 16 Chapter 1: Genealogy 21 Preferred Reading 22 Preferred Subject. 46 Chapter 2: Vision of Anatomy 48 Visual Culture 50 Vision of Anatomy 57 Alternative Visual Regime 66 Critical Spectatorship 68 Residue 75 Outline 75 Loss 76 Traces 77 Dead Ends 78 Staging 80 Chapter 3: Anti-Affect 83 Movement 83 Projected 88 Unmoved 91 Viscerality 98 About Face 100 Proprioception 106 Conclusion 109 Bibliography 115 Vll1 List of Figures Figure 1: Visitors at Body Worlds in Berlin, Germany, 2001 2 Figure 2: Perspective, from New Principles ofLinear Perspective 59 Figure 3: The Skin Man 79 Figure 4: Neuron Cell Diagram 95 Figure 5: Human Respiratory System 96 IX Introduction Body Worlds, the Anatomical Exhibition ofReal Human Bodie/ is a traveling, internationally popular exhibition of real, recently deceased, dissected and posed human corpses. These corpses have been obtained from donors who in life bequeathed their bodies to be dissected and displayed in Body Worlds exhibitions after their death. The corpses are preserved through a process known as plastination which removes water and fat and replaces them with a polymer that is flexible before it hardens, making it possible to pose the dissected corpses. The resulting specimens are called plastinates, and each has a provocative title such as the Skin Man (see figure 3), the Star Warrior, and the Balance Beam Gymnast. The visual effect, didactic value, and "authenticity" of the plastinates, creators argue, lends to the educational purpose of the exhibitions, which "democratize" medical knowledge of the body. Body Worlds exhibitions, featuring dozens of "whole body" specimens, body parts, visual graphics and textual posters and banners, have been viewed by nearly 25 million spectators in North America, Europe and Asia in museums, science centres and art galleries since 1995 (Institute for Plastination [IfP], 2006a).
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