Dr. Carin Berkowitz’s talk discussed the interdisciplinary nature of the human body as it pertains in art and the science of anatomy. She thoroughly analyzed Charles Bell’s work in an attempt to argue that the human body is a visual and experienced art form above all else. In doing so, Dr. Berkowitz gave elaborate examples of Bell’s historic artwork being compared to contemporary works to show how the human form has adapted in the ways it is shown through art. The human body presents a platform for, arguably the most authentic form, of what is known to be “Nature”. She discussed the ways in which the body is scientifically and critically manipulated to either support or refute this comparison. Due to its “inherent beauty” and normative symmetry (from the exterior), the body is loved by artists and scientists alike.
Beyond the multi-disciplinary stance that Dr. Berkowitz discussed in her talk, I particularly was moved by her analysis of ethics in regards to post-mortem dissection. She discussed specifically that in the mid to late 19th century, the dissection of the body was publically perceived as a “fate worse than death of the anatomist’s knife”. Specifically used as a treatment for criminals given the death penalty, scientific analysis of the dead body was culturally understood as a horrific and heinous act. The body, as it was seen as so beautiful, was thought to be destroyed in its truest form by the process of dissection of the anatomist. It is thus questioned how the dignity of a corpse is to be assessed in conjunction with the quality of the life that one leads. She went on to discuss how without such bodies of the criminals used for such scientific discoveries via dissection, little would be known regarding human physiology (not only how parts and organ systems are arranged, but how they function within the body systems).
In terms of medical development, Dr. Berkowitz argued that it was not until bodies were dissected post-mortem that the functionality of the body was understood by physicians. Procedures were performed prior to such knowledge without anesthetics. Doctors were performing these procedures in attempts to be extremely quick without having practices such surgeries (or even having visualized the organs themselves). Cadaver labs provided the means to develop such necessary skills in settings without such highly scaled risk. The body, as it would be analyzed as a scientific basis of learning within a lab, is therefore removed from the spiritual, religious, or artistic.
Also discussed during the talk, Bell’s work only consists of white men. His work displays a historic context of white superiority and sexual superiority. Favoritism for the white man in his artistic work of the “ideal body form” presents the question of how the body is come to be understood. As Dr. Berkowitz discussed, the female body was only utilized in anatomical reference to the experience of pregnancy. This work is important to consider as a multi-disciplinary example of established racist selection and previously unquestioned sexism.