Arts and Ethnics

Arts Ethics of Plastinated Bodies

Plastinated bodies are now commonly exhibited for the promotion of modern art. But one question still remains. While some finds these type of so called "modern art" artistic, others might find it more shocking rather than to give pleasure to the onlooker. To make the matter more serious, some might even consider this unacceptable, opening gourds to discussion of the ethical and moral side of these exhibitions.

Should the dead human body be plastinated and be used as a piece of art? Or should it become merely a piece of art? We could see ourselves that Von Hagens reasons for plastinationg the bodies are not merely due to the sole purpose of anatomical detail, but are a means of artistic expression as well.

But others argue that by preserving the bodies technically perfect, Von Hagens not only brings in their aesthetic value, but also adds a special sense of dignity to the mortal bodies of human beings through making them immortal specimens. The whole-body plastinated specimens are usually objects in the exhibition that attract most interest, especially from visitors from other than the medical field.

This exhibition of live human specimens were made possible only because numerous donors declared during their lifetimes that their bodies should be exhibited after their deaths to advance the medical knowledge of professionals and non-professionals alike.

Visitors to such exhibition stand and look in fascination. Students are now educated on issues of the body were then conducted through various themes in accordance with the respective functions of the human body: the locomotive system, cardiovascular system, and the reproductive system. In relation to each of these systems, healthy as well as diseased organs were displayed, such as a smoker's lung, organs afflicted with lung cancer, heart attack, or arteriosclerosis. But on the other hand, many people, especially those close to religious organizations, reject the idea of death becoming a spectacle. In their eyes, the dead body is sacrosanct, should not be publicly exposed, not even when the people explicitly state their wish during their lifetime.