Visionary Anatomies

VISIONARY ANATOMIES 

JD Talasek

Curator of Exhibitions, National Academy of Sciences

Throughout history, the education and understanding of the human anatomy have been directly influenced by our ability to visually depict the body’s ingenious design. Since the earliest recorded dissections, anatomists have worked with artists to advance the study of medicinethrough detailed, and even beautiful, renderings, the very sight of whichare intriguing, not only due to the inner workings of the body but alsodue to the ability we posses to discover and depict such wonders.The histories of medicine, art, and technology are tightly intertwined,each discipline sharing the purpose of explaining and improving theworld around and — in the case of this exhibition’s subject matter —within us. A study of the intersection between these three disciplines atthe point of anatomical representation reveals a complex and contribu-tory relationship.With the evolution from woodcuts and etchings to X rays andangiograms, our understanding of the body has also advanced. As tech-nology and understanding have progressed, so has an idea that rationalunderstanding of the body should be separate from the emotion and biasof the interpreting artist.Despite ideas of separation, some artists and scientists continue a dia-logue. These practitioners discover powerful metaphors in medicalimages and the insights that they contain, weaving them together withthe history of art and ideas. Collaborations of this nature often lead tomedical and scientific insight, but there is an element that may be over-looked in the name of advancement. These collaborations often producework that has the potential to remind us of our humanity and to keepalive our sense of wonder and awe.The exploration of anatomical images, the diversity of their meaningand interpretation, is the focus of this exhibition.

Visionary Anatomies contains the work of contemporary artists who use medical images and concepts to express aesthetic, social, and cultural ideas. These artists rep-resent a wide range of media, artistic styles, and schools of thought thatactively exist in the art world today.To provide an historical context for this exhibition, Michael Sappol’sinsightful essay, “Visionary Anatomies and the Great Divide: Art,Science, and the Changing Conventions of Anatomical Representation,1500-2003,” has been reproduced in this catalogue. Dr. Sappol’s essay,supported by extensive research and writing in the area of anatomicalhistory and art, enlightens a perspective that ties the past to the ideaspresent in the work of contemporary artists.Recently, there have been several exhibitions that have includedartists utilizing a visual language made possible through the collectiveadvancements of medicine, anatomy, and technology.

Visionary Anatomies was inspired from this active dialogue and most directly influenced by the National Library of Medicine’s

Dream Anatomy exhi-bition, curated by Michael Sappol (October 9, 2002 – July 31, 2003).Other exhibitions that have directly influenced

Visionary Anatomies include

Spectacular Bodies: The Art of Science of the Human Body fromLeonardo to Now

(Hayward Gallery, London, October 19, 2000 – January14, 2001),

Revealing Bodies

(Exploratorium, San Francisco, March 18 –September 4, 2000),

The Art of Science

(International Center of Photography, New York, March 12 – May 30, 2004), and

The New Anatomists

(Welcome Trust, London, March 11 – July 16, 1999).The highest credit and gratitude, however, must be extended to theartists and institutions who willingly and generously allowed work to beincluded in a cross disciplinary exhibition of this nature