Author: John
Reflections on Being a Morbid Anatomy Museum Scholar in Residence
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One perk of being an academic is that you're sometimes asked to temporarily join a cool organization as the in house scholar. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved.
This past August, I was the Scholar in Residence at the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, New York.
An academic Residency can take on many forms and I focused on a few different activities alongside doing my own research.
I curated a group of films for a series I called "Tales from the Celluloid Coffin". I also presented a group of illustrated lectures on my research.
The films covered everything from 1970's future dystopias (Soylent Green) to contemporary ideas about memorializing the dead (Black Mirror).
The illustrated lectures presented my research on a number of topics, including dead body disposal technology, necrophilia laws, and the future of death.
The Morbid Anatomy Museum had only been officially open about six weeks when my Residency began and it hit two months by the time I finished. This is important because the MAM is a new institution and is in the early stages of building its intellectual, artistic, and economic infrastructure.
The Museum grew out of the Morbid Anatomy Library, started in 2008 by Museum Creative Director Joanna Ebbenstein. I have known Joanna since July 2009.
John Troyer at the MAM // Photo by Christine Colby
We first met when I gave a talk at the Morbid Anatomy Library space on the history of 19th century dead body preservation entitled 'Bodies Embalmed by Us NEVER TURN BLACK!': A Brief History of the Hyperstimulated Human Corpse. I then went on to give a series of other talks for the Library, as well as work with Joanna on events at the Coney Island Museum and in London.
Some general observations on the new Morbid Anatomy Museum and its transition away from the Morbid Anatomy Library
The audiences for the films and lectures at the Museum are different than they were at the Library. I noticed this right away. The audiences were largely people who hadn't been to many (if any) previous Museum or Library events, and weren't entirely sure what to expect. This is good, I think. It's bound to happen when institutions change and the Museum is in the process of building an entirely new kind of audience base. I always found the audiences for my Museum talks responsive and full of good questions. The key issue here is to maintain the Museum's institutional integrity while building this new audience and to avoid defaulting to 'wacky' events in order to keep selling tickets. I don't think that the MAM will lose sight of its intellectual foundations but, alas, economic concerns sometime begin to weigh on programming decisions. I've been part of those kinds of conversations many times in the past.
Another issue that became apparent to me during my Residency was that popular culture and mass media interest in death has peaked. This observation is partly related to the saturation coverage anything and everything about death is currently receiving from mainstream media outlets such as the New York Times, Vice, National Public Radio, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, etc., the list goes on and on. At a certain point, the popular culture and mass media interest will also become farcical, something that seems to already be happening.
One sidenote: reporters should really, really learn to stop using death related puns and then think that they're clever, but I've long since given up on that ever happening.
The other reason that I think mainstream, popular culture interest in death has peaked is related to the research that I was doing during my Residency. I'm currently looking at 1970's death discourse and end-of-life movements, mostly in America but also the United Kingdom. Until relatively recently, I was unaware how much popular attitudes towards death had changed from 1970-1979. It turns out that the 1970's were a hotbed of discussion, activism, and death culture debate that significantly affected our contemporary moment. A number of groups that took shape during the 1970's remain with us today, e.g., the death acceptance movement, the natural death movement (which advocated foregoing medical treatment to die 'naturally'), and death with dignity groups.
One scholar's work in particular, Lyn H. Lofland Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California Davis, really sums up (for me) how changes to American death attitudes create new kinds of societal norms. She also adds a cautionary note regarding death's inevitable chic:
"…it seems likely that eventually humans will construct for themselves a new, or at least altered, death culture and organization — a new "craft of dying" – better able to contain the new experience…I believe, as do other sociological observers…that in the ferment of activity relative to death and dying during the last two decades in the United States we have witnessed and are witnessing just such a reconstruction. Undoubtedly within this ferment, especially that emanating from the mass media, there are elements of fad and fashion – a thanatological "chic" as it were, having approximately the same level of import as organic gardening and home canning among the rich. And certainly one can never underestimate the capacity of American public discourse to transform "life and death matters" into passing enthusiasms. But there is, I believe, more to this activity than simply one more example of impermanent trendiness in modern life. Americans, especially affluent middle-class Americans, have been in the process of creating new or at least altered ways of thinking, believing, feeling, and acting about death and dying because they have been confronting a new "face of death."
This quote is on p.16 of her book The Craft of Dying: The Modern Face of Death, which was published in 1978. If anyone reading this passage was struck by how uncannily it describes 2014, then you're not alone. Indeed, reading Lofland's work has been a revelation and the 1970s have become my new area of research.
Per Lofland's forty-year-old observations, an institution such as the Morbid Anatomy Museum is made conceptually possible, I think, because of the current middle class interest in death and thanatological chic. What made the Museum physically possible was the time and labor spent building the Morbid Anatomy Library, a project that never set out to be fashionable. The challenge the Museum now faces is when death chic is replaced by another interest for the urban middle classes.
A final thought on an issue that the 1970's were never able to solve. Affluent, mostly white middle-class Americans need to also expand their current death interests beyond themselves and begin tackling funeral and death poverty for the poor. It's a lot easier to make elaborate home-based funerals your political cause when you've got the time (which translates into money) to do so. The quicker that this economic reality is recognized by today's Happy Death Movement (a term Lofland coined in the 1970's) the sooner longer lasting changes will occur.
The upside of these dilemmas is that even when death's middle class fashionability dissipates, the face of death will continue to stare us all down.
In a word, the work never ends.
Many thanks to the following people who helped make my Residency so wonderful and productive:
Laetitia, Brant, Joanna, AC, Paco, Eric Sollien, Christine Colby and Lady Aye
And special thanks to:
Mac, Catherine, Daphne, Oona, and Simon
Tags Five Year Anniversary, lecture, Morbid Anatomy Museum
Breaking News: People REALLY DO Want to Discuss Death and Dying with Doctors
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Coverage for End-of-Life Talks Gaining Ground
Pam Belluck, The New York Times (August 31, 2014)
Medicare may cover advance care planning that was once decried as "death panels," and some private insurers are not waiting for the political process.
Maybe I'm being a bit unfair to the New York Times with this post's title. It's a good article. I recommend reading it.
That said, it should come as no surprise that patients, doctors, and even insurance companies (i.e., The MAN) want people to discuss end-of-life planning.
Most importantly, if people would momentarily stop saying that death is a taboo and that it's a subject that nobody wants to discuss then it might actually encourage more of these end-of-life planning conversations.
Tags bioethics, death with dignity, Five Year Anniversary, medicine
Death + Art / Architecture Death + Popular Culture Grief + Mourning Monuments + Memorials
Seeing The AIDS Memorial Quilt in New York in 2014
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Photos: See The AIDS Quilt On Governors Island
Gothamist (August 12, 2014)
On Monday and Tuesday of last week, a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt was on display in New York for the first time in over 10 years.
I posted about this chance to see the AIDS Quilt and then made a point of seeing it myself.
I last saw the AIDS Quilt twenty years ago.
There isn't much to say other than this section of the AIDS Quilt was displayed on Governors Island in New York. Governors Island is beautiful and it's been turned into a wonderful park area.
That said, seeing the Quilt this way made it feel like a Plague Island. Or an Anti-Contagion Zone of a kind.
Twenty or Twenty-five years ago, this section of the Aids Memorial Quilt would have been on display in Central Park.
I have no doubt.
You can see photos on the Gothamist page.
Tags AIDS, death and art, Five Year Anniversary, memorializing
Death + Biology Death + Technology Defying Death
Freezing Yourself like Time in a Bottle
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Cryogenic Preservation Is Changing What It Means to Be Dead
If you could freeze yourself until a future age, are you sure you'd want to?
Judith Shulevitz, The New Republic (July 27, 2014)
Good article in The New Republic on the uses (and abuses) of extreme cold technology for the nearly dead, almost dead, and very certainly completely dead.
Just remember: cryopreserving yourself for the future may one day be feasible (maybe), but is it desirable?
That's the question.
Besides, the actor Timothy Hutton can only defend the rights of one defrosted humanoid during his lifetime.
Tags cryogenics, cryonics, de
Death + Art / Architecture Death + Popular Culture Monuments + Memorials
Section of AIDS Memorial Quilt on Display Next Week in New York
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See the AIDS Quilt in NYC for First Time in a Decade
Irene Plagianos, DNAInfo New York (August 6, 2014)
In an unexpected turn of events, a section of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt arrives in New York City next week. Most people simply call it the AIDS Memorial Quilt or even the AIDS Quilt.
It's really worth checking out.
A large piece of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed on Governors Island next week, marking its first visit to New York City in more than a decade.
The 57,600-square-foot section of the quilt — made from thousands of panels dedicated to people who have died from AIDS — will be unfolded across a football field-sized area of the island.
Visitors will be able to view the quilt from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 11 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 12.
A special dedication ceremony will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 11, and members of the public will be able to participate in a name reading ceremony.
I was able to see the AIDS Quilt a few times during the 1990s. One of those viewings involved going to the original AIDS Memorial Quilt building in San Francisco. I'll never forget it.
Here are some videos about the Quilt in the event you have no idea what this post is about.
It is also worth noting that it's now impossible to display the entire AIDS Quilt in one place since it's become too large.
Death + Popular Culture Death + the Web
Day 31: And on Day 31 of 31 Days of Death the Death Reference Desk Rests
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31 Days of Death
The Death Reference Desk
Today marks the final day of Death Ref's 31 Days of Death project.
The plan was to demonstrate that it's quite easy to write about, discuss, and point towards articles and information on death, dying, and the dead body — every day.
This is important since it challenges the always popular argument that death is a socially repressed and taboo topic.
The exact opposite is true. We 21st Century First World Humans talk about death every single day. We can't escape it.
And we've got 31 Days of Death postings to prove it.
One last plug for Death Ref John's August gig as the Morbid Anatomy Museum's Scholar in Residence. Click here for a full listing of what he's doing at the MAM.
Tags 31 Days of Death, death, Five Year Anniversary, Morbid Anatomy Museum
Death + Biology Death + Technology Death Ethics
Day 30: Bringing the Dead Back to (Some Kind of) Life
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9 Things to Know About Reviving the Recently Dead
Greg Miller, Wired Magazine (July 30, 2014)
Great article in today's Wired about research by Dr. David Casarett on methods used to revive, resuscitate, and bring back the dead. Casarett's work is in his new book called Shocked: Adventures in Bringing Back the Recently Dead.
Interestingly, Greg Miller at Wired notes that:
Casarett is enthusiastic about the emerging technologies that are allowing doctors to save patients who would have been a lost cause in the very recent past. But these technologies come at a cost, he writes. They may restore life, but whether it's a life worth living is another matter.
And while Casarett originally became a Doctor so that he could develop new technologies to bring back the dead, he's now working in hospice and palliative care.
Sometimes staying dead is better than the 'life' a resuscitated person experiences.
The Death Reference Desk has featured a series of stories on the ins and outs of Do Not Resuscitate orders. And DNR tattoos. You can find those posts here.
Tags 31 Days of Death, brain death, cardiac death, definition of death, five year, medicine, moment of death
Death + Art / Architecture Death + Popular Culture Death + Technology
Day 29: Full Listing of Events for Death Ref John's Morbid Anatomy Museum Residency
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photo by Carl Newland
Morbid Anatomy Museum
424A 3rd Ave
During the month of August, I will be the Scholar in Residence at the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn.
My residency includes a series of films about death that I specifically selected for the MAM. It also features illustrated lectures about my research on death, dying, and the dead body.
Quick clue for Death Ref's close personal friends: the films and the talks complement each other.
More than anything, I'm really excited to spend August at the Museum.
The complete listing of films and talks is below.
You can also click here to see August's calendar on the Morbid Anatomy Museum website.
Tales from the Celluloid Coffin: A Death-themed Series of Film Screenings
Mondays 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm $5
August 4: Death, Dystopia and Technology Circa 1970
August 11: Death, Color and Memory
August 18: Necrophilia
August 25: Future Death Circa 1990
Illustrated Lectures on Death, Dying, and the Dead Body
Wednesdays 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm $8
August 6: Future Dead Body Technology
August 13: Morbid Ink: The Permanence of Memorial Tattoos
August 20: Abusing the Corpse: Understanding Necrophilia Laws in the USA
August 27: The Future is Death and Death is the Future: Technology, Politics, and the Dead Body
Tags 31 Days of Death, Five Year Anniversary, lecture, Morbid Anatomy Museum
Day 28: Full Transcript of House of Lords Debate on Assisted Dying
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Assisted Dying Bill: 2nd Reading on July 18, 2014
United Kingdom House of Lords Hansard (Published July 21, 2014)
The UK's House of Lords has now published a full transcript, or Hansard, of its July 18, 2014 debate on assisted dying.
You can read more about that day's debate here.
You can also catch up on all 5+ years of Death Ref's posts on assisted dying here.
Just remember, the July 18 debate took 9 hours and 43 minutes to complete and involved 133 speakers.
The transcript is a bit long. That's all we're saying.
Tags 31 Days of Death, assisted dying, bioethics, death with dignity, Five Year Anniversary, physician-assisted suicide, religion
Cemeteries Death + Humor
Day 27: On Sundays, the Death Reference Desk Kicks It Cemetery Style
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Does the Death Reference Desk know how to party, or WHAT?!
Tags 31 Days of Death, Cemeteries, Five Year Anniversary
Burial Cemeteries Grief + Mourning
Day 26: Photos of London's Afro-Caribbean Funerals
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'Mourners singing We'll Meet Again. Andrew Shervington, who is digging, was a community leader in Notting Hill during the race riots. The typical songs sung round the grave were Abide With Me and How Great Thou Art. Now, people tend to play Frank Sinatra's My Way or Luther Vandross's Dance With My Father instead.' At Kensal Rise, London, 1972. (From the Guardian article)
How great thou art: 50 years of Afro-Caribbean funerals – in pictures
Charlie Phillips, in The Guardian (July 25, 2014)
The spirituals sung, the Scotch bonnet berets worn, and the rum drunk at the graveside … Charlie Phillips's photographs chart the rituals and the changes in African-Caribbean funerals in London since the Windrush generation, to preserve a part of British culture he feels has been overlooked. Here Phillips recalls the stories behind some of his most striking images
Any large city will always have a migrant population that dies and then fuses its own funeral traditions with the status quo.
These photos by Charlie Phillips of funerals in London's Afro-Caribbean community are stunning.
If you're interested, you can support his kickstarter campaign to create a book of these images.
Above image by Charlie Phillips.
Tags 31 Days of Death, Five Year Anniversary, funerals, photos
Death + Technology Death + the Law
Day 25: Death Row Prisoners' Final Statements and Meals
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From America's Busiest Death Chamber, a Catalog of Last Rants, Pleas and Apologies
Manny Fernandez, The New York Times (June 29, 2013)
Texas has executed 500 inmates since 1982 and posts the final statements of those men and women on a public Web site, revealing a glimmer of humanity behind the numbers.
Last Words of Prisoners on Death Row
Will Coldwell, The Guardian (July 2, 2013)
Since reinstating 'ultimate justice' in 1982, the state of Texas has kept a record of the final statements of condemned prisoners. Here are some of the most memorable.
Why the Death Penalty Is Doomed
Jesse Wegman, The New York Times (July 24, 2014)
No Seconds
Henry Hargreaves Photo Reconstructions of Final Meals
America's use of the Death Penalty was in the news again this week.
Here is a quick snapshot of some articles from last year on death row prisoners' final statements.
I've also included a New York Times Taking Note blog piece by Jesse Wegman on a fascinating legal argument by a Judge who supports the death penalty but thinks that ultimately the practice will end. Why? Because the idea of a 'humane death' is proving increasingly difficult to maintain and returning to the guillotine (which worked very well) isn't feasible.
Finally, photographer Henry Hargreaves' reconstructions of final meals on death row are hard to forget. Something about the everydayness of the food makes the images stick in your memory.
Tags 31 Days of Death, capital punishment, Five Year Anniversary, last words, photos
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