Category Archives: Anatomy

Just got word of an interesting looking event/exhibition taking place this weekend in the ever fascinating Detroit. Full details follow:

In the Evening of the 12th and 13th Day of August 2011, it will be unveiled an extraordinary exposition of biological and medical exploration entitled Corpus Illuminata - An Anatomic Interpretation. Hosted within the District VII Gallery in Detroit, this unique event will consist of one part exhibition of anatomic-inspired artwork, one part museum of medical antiquities and one part academia of accredited presentations.

The exhibition portion will feature 33 artistic explorations from 24 artists local and across the nation. Within the museum portion, collectors of Victorian-era medical instruments, quackery and oddities will bring together their cherished pieces to re-create themed display rooms ranging from surgical to mortuary. On stage, various speakers will present and discuss a variety of topics that include human anatomy, psychology, the history of contraception, the chemistry of herbal supplements and other intriguing subject matters.

Video installations within the venue will be feature films and videos ranging from historical medical experimentations, human autopsies, artistic interpretations and more. The ambiance is supplied by Life Toward Twilight from the new CD "I Swear By All The Flowers", which explores memories from the end of the Nineteenth Century through a sound collage from antique sources, including music boxes, ticking grandfather clocks, steam trains, wax cylinder recordings, early mechanical factories and old voices. Also, gelatos, gelato floats and flavored teas, courtesy of the Detroit Tea Company, will be served within our apothecary-themed health bar.

The doors open at 6pm on both evenings until midnight and all ages are welcome, however discretion must be advised due to some graphic medical content.

Admission is only five dollars.

You can find out more about this event here.

Film maker, friend, and many-time Observatory lecturer Ronni Thomas finds Observatory--the event and gallery space I founded with some friends in Brooklyn New York a few years back--inspiring. So inspiring, in fact, that he has created a new web-based video series entitled "The Midnight Archive: Tales from the Observatory" which will use as a launching off point the events, classes, field trips and personalities to be found in this space.

This Friday night we will be hosting a launch party for The Midnight Archive at The Coney Island Museum as part of my ongoing exhibition The Great Coney Island Spectacularium; more on that party can be found here.

In the meantime, above is a teaser for the show, which features five Observatory presenters--including our self-taught anthropomorphic taxidermy and mummification instructors--and is graced by the music of Stephen Coates of The Real Tuesday Weld. And following is what auteur Ronni Thomas has to say about this new series and its inspiration:

About an ODD year ago, or so, i had the honor to lecture at the ever impressive Brooklyn Observatory in, well... Brooklyn, NY. I was amazed at the turnout - I could not believe so many people were interested in such strange topics. Talking to Joanna Ebenstein of Morbid Anatomy and the Observatory itself, it seemed apparent that there was a demand for a series on the exotic and the esoteric.

Hence - The Midnight Archive... Its not only a web series but a collection - so to speak - of some of the unique people, collections, careers and artifacts from the Observatory as well as around the world. Consider it a sampler, an Observatory Sampler - like those Whitman's Chocolate Samplers (only don't crush each of these to figure out whats inside). The Series launches Friday August 12th at Coney Island USA - for details please email ronni [at] themidnightarchive.com

Title Theme by the ever amazing Stephen Coates (The Real Tuesday Weld, Lazarus and the Plane Crash) http://www.tuesdayweld.com.

Stay tuned for full episodes at themidnightarchive.com. For more on Friday's launch party--where at least one entire episode will be screened--click here. For more on Observatory--the space that inspired it all!--click here.

The You Are Here letterpress prints are back once again by popular demand at the Street Anatomy store!

Display your love for that special someone by showing them exactly where they’re located in your big anatomical heart.

• 12” x 18” hand printed letterpress poster
• Five color hand carved lino cut
• Hand set vintage metal type
• Printed one color at a time in charcoal gray, pale yellow, red, blue and black
• French 80# cover, true white
• Created and hand printed by the fine folks at Roll and Tumble Press in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Available at the Street Anatomy store for $25. 50 available. Free skull sticker packs with every order.

Whoaaaah. Anatomically themed classic music video for Tool’s Vicarious.

[Spotted by Wendy Hiller Gee]

What’s better for a hot summer night than a light lace top? With skulls!! Found this little piece online at Zara. It’s on sale for $12.99. Grab it! Would be so cute over a bikini with some neon flip flops.

Surreal anatomical work by Chicago-born artist, Seisaku Katayanagi.