In lodge to see the ingathering of the forthcomingMorbid Anatomy Museum , you have to understand the destruction - centric collection — think skeletons , taxidermy , medical oddities — as neither kitschy nor creepy .
" I care to think about how our mental attitude about things have changed ; and in special our attitudes about death , because I think that is the most fecund affair to examine , " says Joanna Ebenstein , the founder of the Morbid Anatomy Library , which is the groundwork of the museum . " The way we recall about destruction now , these ikon seem wholly inappropriate . It seems voyeuristical and wrong and atrocious . But I would indicate , in some ways , that they were dealing with grief in way that we do n’t really have a capability with any longer because we think it ’s so incompatible . "
She is talking specifically about Stanley Burns ' solicitation of eery photographs depicting asleep prissy - geological era children . The portrait were pop at a fourth dimension when two of every five children died before the age of five and the inevitability of death was encountered more frequently and intimately .
" It really speaks to how much we ’ve change as people that this could become exotic and other . It never was before ; there was never a period in story where demise was sootherthan now . " Confronting that chasm is , in part , the purpose of the museum .
Ebenstein , who instruct herself to cutis bird as a tiddler , says she collect objects like those that will be found in the museum in a " low key " way for years . But once the depository library blank open in 2008 , after a month expend inflict and snap aesculapian museum in Europe and the United States , she started actively take care for find to fit the aesthetic .
And aesthetic is important . Many of the objects in the museum will be stage without explanation as Ebenstein wants them to elicit interpretation . " I ’m not even sure I bed what they all are , " she enounce of the myriad of curiosities that are currently cluttering the walk - in closet - sized place that is the Morbid Anatomy Library . " If they ’re interesting and I think they suit the space , I just take them home and sometimes I find out more about them and sometimes I do n’t . "
There ’s a method to this mystery . " I ’m more inspired by ' console of curio ' eccentric stuff , which is more associatory and let mass make their own associations . If citizenry ask then I ’m for certain happy to partake in information . But there are so many other thing that you could take from that that are n’t the facts so I do n’t like to predetermine the spectator . "
That does n’t think of there wo n’t be plenty to get a line from a visit to the museum . Morbid Anatomy has host talking to and various interactive classes — taxidermy is specially popular — since 2009 and will continue to do in the raw space .
The estimation for a large museum was born at one of these lecture , two Halloweens ago . TwinsTracy Martin and Tonya Hurleyattended a talk Ebenstein was return on Santa Muerte , Saint Death , and afterwards expressed their interest in seeing more .
" Tracy , who ’s now our CEO , tell , ' You know , there should be a gift shop coffeehouse like this . ' And I say , ' There should be . And it should come about now and it should pass off in this neighborhood and we can make this outstanding museum to go with it , ' " Ebenstein says of that initial encounter . " So it was just this stupid conversation really and then something happened and it became more serious and I ’m not exactly certain when it became more serious , actually . "
The three - story space is pose to open up sometime in May . The basement will host events like make - your - own dirt ball shadow box get - togethers and even a singles mixer for like - tending Brooklynites . The ground floor will have a gift shop and cafe and the top level will sport an expanded version of the Morbid Anatomy Library along with an exposition outer space .
The first show will feature the quirky work of Victorian taxidermist Walter Potter , who is renowned for his anthropomorphic scenes such asThe Kitten Wedding . A late show will make consumption of the postmortem photography in an exhibit about memorial art and a third will feature seventeenth century anatomist and museumologist Fredrik Ruysch ’s tableaus made using foetal frame and human body function .
The range of matter that interest Ebenstein is visible in the more actual program library department of the blank . She rattle off the topics : history of medical specialty , death and art , death and culture , lit , medical museum , art and medicine , lifelike chronicle , collectors and assembling , freaks and monsters , rational amusements , sexology , ethnical theory , the uncanny , and religion .
It ’s fecund — if moderately macabre — reason for investigation that has happen more than just niche ingathering . And if it seems strange to visit a museum with death as the through - tune , remember that it is one of just two worldwide experiences . And a revenue enhancement museum would n’t be nearly as interesting .
All photos courtesy of Joanna Ebenstein .
tick off out the Morbid Anatomy Museum Kickstarterhere .
