Category Archives: Anatomy

Wow. Words can’t describe how cool this is (especially given his process)! Jeremy Mayer has mastered the disassembling and reassembling of old typewriters into anatomical figures, both human and animal. The figures fit together seamlessly in an intricate, delicate, and yet also robust way. It seems like typewriters are the perfect medium to convey the beauty of the human (or really any living) form. Be sure to check out his portfolio for more amazing anatomical works.

I disassemble typewriters and then reassemble them into full-scale, anatomically correct human figures. I do not solder, weld, or glue these assemblages together- the process is entirely cold assembly. I do not introduce any part to the assemblage that did not come from a typewriter.

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Artist and illustrator Ben Brown have created these limited edition dead-undead masterpieces.

Situated in Australia, Ben Brown seems to focus on the stylistic and colourful use of the comic book style.

Along with the likes of Buddy Holly, James Dean, and Kurt Cobain, he uses other iconic images such as Spiderman, Batman, John Wayne, A Clockwork Orange, Rambo and even Ziggy Stardust.

Each signed print can be bought from his shop, prices given on request.

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We at Morbid Anatomy are SO excited to announce the return to Observatory of one of our all-time favorite speakers, that silver-tongued rogue scholar Mel Gordon, author of, among many other books, Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror, The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber; and Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin.

On Sunday, June 3, Mr. Gordon will be giving an illustrated lecture at Observatory based on his research for the book Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant followed by a special screening of "lost" film footage from Hanussen's 1919 "Hypnosis: Hanussen's First Adventure," a Caligari-like story of sex magic and the occult. Books will also be available for sale and signing.

For those who have not yet seen Mr. Gordon speak, trust me; this is a night not to be missed. Full details follow; hope very much to see you there!

Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant: An Illustrated Lecture and Screening with Mel Gordon, Author of "Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant"
An illustrated lecture and screening of "lost footage" with Mel Gordon, author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant and Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror
Date: Sunday, June 3 (please note date change from Monday, June 4)
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

"Historians digging into the archives to reconstruct the chronicle of the Twentieth Century will have to deal with this strange phenomenon of Erik Jan Hanussen, born Herschmann Steinschneider in the humble home of a poor Jewish actor in Vienna. It will be their task to unravel a complex maze of reality and legend, myth and romance, to reach the core of the true personality of Steinschneider, alias Hanussen, and his influence on one of the most significant chapters of European history, the ascent and reign of Adolf Hitler." --Pierre van Paassen, Redbook Magazine, "The Date of Hitler's Fall," May 1942

When Pierre van Paassen, the prominent Dutch author and foreign correspondent, wrote the above for McCall's Redbook Magazine, the "amazing exploits of Erik Jan Hanussen" were still hot international filler. What could have been more titillating than the true and enigmatic story of a Jewish mystic who helped usher in the Third Reich before  becoming one of its first victims?

Tonight, join Mel Gordon--author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant--for an illustrated lecture on the amazing story of Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant featuring a special screening of "lost" film footage from Hanussen's 1919 "Hypnosis: Hanussen's First Adventure," a Caligari-like story of sex magic and the occult, and other documentary sources. Books will also be available for sale and signing.

Mel Gordon is the author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant, Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror, Voluptious Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin, and many other books. Voluptious Panicwas the first in-depth and illustrated book on the topic of erotic Weimar; The lavish tome was praised by academics and inspired the establishment of eight neo-Weimar nightclubs as well as the Dresden Dolls and a Marilyn Manson album. Now, Mel Gordon is completing a companion volume for Feral House Press, entitled Horizontal Collaboration: The Erotic World of Paris, 1920-1946. He also teaches directing, acting, and history of theater at University of California at Berkeley.

More here.

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Tonight at Observatory, hope to see you for a screening of Kat Green's intriguing looking film "The Secret Life of Mushrooms," a documentary about psychedelic Psilocybin mushroom tourism in Mexico, followed by a Q and A with the filmmakers. Also coming up: workshops withc ceroplast Sigrid Sarda in wax anatomical votives and life and death masks; "Drawing from the Bestiary" class with Saul Chernick; an upcoming lecture with Mel Gordon about Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant; and the screening of a film detailing the unexpectedly dark history of Jell-O.

Full list of upcoming events follows; Hope to see you at one--if not more!--of these terrific events.

"The Secret Life of Mushrooms" -- Screening and Q and A with the Filmmakers
Screening of the film "The Secret Life of Mushrooms" with the film's producer/director Kathleen Green and interviewer Dan Glass
Date: TONIGHT Monday, May 21
Time: 8:00
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

"Kat Green's documentary on mushroom tourism in Mexico is a valuable and insightful examination of the fallout when global culture encounters indigenous sacred traditions. At a time when most of the focus is on ayahuasca tourism in the Amazon, Kat's documentary reminds us that mushroom tourism continues, as it has since the 60s. Well worth viewing!" – Dr. Dennis McKenna, co-author of The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching

Psilocybin mushrooms were first brought into the public consciousness in the late 1950's after R. Gordon Wasson discovered the ceremonial mushroom rituals of the Mazatec Indians in Mexico and published his findings in Life magazine.?? Huautla de Jimenez – the largest town in the Sierra Mazateca – was made famous amongst spiritual seekers, resulting in a hippie invasion to the remote mountain town that lasted over a decade. Today, mushrooms are still commonly used for healing, and have become a very public symbol of Huautla's pride in their culture.?? The Secret Life of Mushrooms features interviews with anthropologist and author of The Devil's Book of Culture, Ben Feinberg, local curandera Ines Cortes Rodriguez, Mazatec ritual specialist Edward Abse, and a wide variety of local historians, musicians, and business owners, as journalist Dan Glass investigates the long term cultural effects that outsiders have had on the small mountain town in the last 50 years.
Tonight, join filmmakers Kathleen Green and Dan Glass for a screening of The Secret Life of Mushrooms at Observatory, followed by a brief Q & A. You can find out more about the film by clicking here.

Kathleen Green (Producer/Director – The Secret Life of Mushrooms) Brooklyn filmmaker Kathleen Green has been working in film, video, and live event production since 1997. In that time, she has created documentaries, music videos, short films, and visual art with the goals of finding untold stories, exploring new ways to capture dance on camera, and generally making pretty things to look at.  Her work has been screened at the Dance on Camera Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, the New York Tango Film Festival, the 2007 Americans for the Arts Convention, the Pioneer Theatre, Collective: Unconscious, the Bowery Poetry Club, on the Fuse network, and at various galleries in Berlin. She has also worked with HBO, MTV, MSNBC, the Sundance Channel, VH1, Fuse, and the History Channel as a freelance editor and post supervisor.  She is currently developing a non-fiction series about fire artists and their work entitled Playing With Fire, and the dance film, Strange Attractors. 

Dan Glass (Interviewer – The Secret Life of Mushrooms) Dan Glass has written travel, science, and culture stories about such diverse subjects as solar eclipse chasing, Puerto Rican senior citizen bicycle gangs, the psychological effect of viewing earth from space, and flophouses in Coney Island, among others. He's traveled through over 40 countries on five continents, with highlights including excursions to Ethiopia's Omo Valley to find ritual stickfighting battles, solo horse treks through central Mongolia, and riverboat trips 800 miles down the Congo River. His work has been featured in outlets including Wired, NPR, Discover, and Playboy Online. He lives in New York City.

And onward and upwards:

• May 31: “Powder House” A Film about Jell-O: Screening of this film about this "symbol, multi-faceted and elusive; it’s silly, playful, funereal, American. It’s made from bones." Q and A with the filmmakers
• June 3: Life and Death Mask Making Workshop with Artist Sigrid Sarda *** Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
• June 3: (please note date change)  Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant: An illustrated lecture and screening of “lost footage” with Mel Gordon, author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant and Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror
• June 24: Anatomical Wax Votive Workshop with Artist Sigrid Sarda ***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
• June 25: Class: Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures: 4-Part Class with Artist Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University ***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
• June 30: Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop: With former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
• June 30: Morbid Anatomy Library Post-Disaster Benefit SAVE THE DATE 
• July 7: Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop: With former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
• July 13: Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig: Illustrated lecture by Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein, followed by afterparty featuring thematic music and specialty cocktails by Friese Undine

You can find out more about all events by clicking here.

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A new season of The Midnight Archive--that wonderful web-based documentary series centered around Brooklyn's Observatory--will be launching shortly, and series creator Ronni Thomas has just posted an exciting new teaser to give you a taste of what is to come, which, as you will see, will include featurettes on yours truly, the amazing Weimar-revivalist/performance artist Max Raabe, the time-traveling collection of Evan Michelson, the Victorian machines of Tim Mullen, Stanley Burns and his collection of Post-Mortem photography, and the green fairy herself, absinthe!

You can view the excellent teaser by clicking "play" above.

And here is what series creator Thomas has to say about this upcoming season:

Coming up shortly - after a brief hiatus the Midnight Archive web series is on its way back complete with all new things to make your eyes bulge. This season shifts focus to some prolific collections and their owners including our gal Joanna Ebenstein (Morbid Anatomy/Brooklyn Observatory) and the elegant and charming Evan Michelson (owner of Obscura Antiques in NYC) - but we also sprinkle in a decent dose of the old who/what/where/why's of the obscure. We're excited to get it underway and always excited to hear your feedback - prepare for a great stretch! 

For more on the series, to see any of the episodes, or to sign up for the mailing list and thus be alerted to future uploads, visit The Midnight Archive website by clicking here. You can also "like" it on Facebook--and be alerted in this way--by clicking here.

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Morbid Anatomy Library's mother space, Proteus Gowanus, is having a benefit party! Invitation follows. Hope very much to see you there!

More information--and tickets!--here.

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