Eeeeeewww... That's... fascinating

Sure, it's disgusting. But is it art?

The Body Worlds 3 exhibit has been running at Vancouver's Science World since last week. It runs until after New Years Day.

That's definitely long enough that I can't make the excuse that I was too busy. Still, I just don't know if I'm going to end up seeing it.

Flayed corpses plastinated and placed in lifelike poses might just be too much for my stomach to handle. Possibly, I could go around Halloween time and temporarily trick myself into thinking they're just B-movie props.

Maybe there's another component to my hesitation. The sacrilegious angle doesn't offend me. But even without an all seeing creator, isn't there an intrinsic dignity to human beings that is disrespected by this kind of exhibit? My experience in 8th grade biology class says, no. Still, something about it puts me off.

Yes, I can see the educational value in such an exhibit. What better way could one demonstrate the human condition?

For those locals with stronger stomachs who are also thinking about going to the exhibit but don't really know what to expect, or for anyone wanting to learn more about Dr. Gunther von Hagens' work, I've posted a video above.

Enjoy. Or not.

Tags: Gunther von Hagen, Body Worlds 3, Science World, flayed corpses, plastination, mad scientist