"Bodyworks" Art Display Uses Real Human Brain, Dead Bodies.

I've never actually been to the body works display but I would love to. I think its really fascinating.

Gunther von Hagens has given new meaning to the term "culture of death." Von Hagens, a German anatomist, has created an "art" exhibit consisting of works that include a man seated at a chess board, his brain exposed; a woman whose pregnant belly is peeled back to reveal an 8-month fetus curled inside; a skinned man astride a horse, holding his brain in his right hand, the horse's in his left.

Nothing shocking about this, you say, it's just what passes for modern art these days? Ah, but there's an important difference. Von Hagens' "Bodyworks" exhibit is not representational art -- the usual paintings or sculptures or even photographs -- but actual human bodies or body parts from 200 dead men, women and children preserved, dissected, mutilated and put on display to entertain.

Installation art by Nyo Win Maun of Burma

1. Engaged Art as a form of Interdisciplinary Practice
Engagement takes place in a spectrum and is implicit in all forms of art-making, in varying degrees. ‘Engaged art activities’,
referring to art activities which engage with social issues, have been on the rise in response to social and political issues
challenging contemporary cultures. Within engaged art practices, IFIMA feels a need for a more expanded, extended and
active form of engagement; for art to work in collaboration with other disciplines, and with societal structures, to influence
social change. We believe that for contemporary art to play an effective role as a catalyst for change, it has to go beyond
display (show), spectacle, and critique. It needs to situate itself as part of a wider network of practices, and be willing to
engage in dialogue with other practices, disciplines, publics and structures.

cloud gate

Here is another installation piece in Chicago by Anish Kapoor. I think I really now need to go to Chicago and look for this stuff.

The 110-ton Cloud Gate sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly-polished stainless steel "plates" that create an elliptically-arched, highly-reflective work with Chicago's skyline and Millennium Park itself as a dramatic backdrop. Visitors fully experience the majestic nature of the work by literally walking through and around, as it was designed for public interaction. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest in the world, measuring 66-feet-long by 33-feet high. The plaza upon which Cloud Gale sits was made possible by a gift from the SBC Corporation.

sky Mirror

yet another cool installation art piece by British artist Anish Kapoor.


Anish Kapoor
From Wikipedia

Anish Kapoor (born 1954) is a Turner Prize winning sculptor. Kapoor was born in Bombay (Mumbai), India, and attended the Doon School, located in Dehra Dun, India. He moved to England in 1972, where he has lived since. He studied art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea School of Art Design.
In the early 1980s, Kapoor emerged as one of a number of British sculptors working in a new style and gaining international recognition for their work. As of 2007, Kapoor works in London, although he frequently visits India and has acknowledged that his art is inspired by both Western and Eastern cultures. His art historical influences include: Mantegna, Beuys, Barnett Newman and Yves Klein.

Installation art

I guess since all this is new to me. I really enjoy installation art. After all the fascination with Michael Hayden's work that I did for my paper. I decided to look up more installation art and see what is out there. I came across this piece and thought it was really interesting. This is displayed somewhere in Chicago. I don't know if it still exists there.