1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Saturday, October 18, 2014
11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
On October 18, NYAM’s Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health presents its second-annual Festival for Medical History and the Arts. “Art, Anatomy, and the Body: Vesalius 500″ will celebrate the 500th birthday of anatomist Andreas Vesalius.
Vesalius’ groundbreaking De humani corporis fabrica (The Fabric of the Human Body) of 1543 is a key Renaissance text, one that profoundly changed medical training, anatomical knowledge, and artistic representations of the body, an influence that has persisted over the centuries. Our Festival is one of a global series of celebrations of his legacy.
Our day-long event will explore the intersection of anatomy and the arts with a vibrant roster of performers and presenters, including
- Heidi Latsky’s “GIMP” Dance Project;
- the comics artists of Graphic Medicine;
- Sander Gilman on posture controlling the unruly body;
- Alice Dreger on inventing the medical photograph;
- Bill Hayes on researching hidden histories of medicine;
- Steven Assael, Ann Fox and Chun-shan (Sandie) Yi on anatomy in contemporary art;
- Chase Joynt’s Resisterectomy, a meditation on surgery and gender;
- Brandy Schillace on ambivalent depictions of female anatomy in the 18th century;
- Lisa Rosner on famous body snatchers Burke and Hare;
- the art of anatomical atlases with Michael Sappol;
- medical 3D printing demos by ProofX;
- anatomical painting directly on skin with Kriota Willberg;
- Daniel Garrison on translating Vesalius for modern audiences;
- Jeff Levine and Michael Nevins on revisiting the Fabrica frontispiece;
and many more.
In connection with the Festival, NYAM’s Center will host 4 hands-on workshops
1. From the Cradle to the Grave: Session One: The Cradle
Working with NYAM’s conservation team, produce your own articulated anatomical figures in the Gladys Brooks Book & Paper Conservation Laboratory. Participants will have time to make at least one paper baby and pelvis, which can be produced as paper dolls or magnets.
2. From the Cradle to the Grave: Session Two: The Grave
Working with NYAM’s conservation team, produce your own “exquisite corpse” in the Gladys Brooks Book & Paper Conservation Laboratory. To produce a Vesalian-themed exquisite (or rotating) corpse, this workshop will employ a special, rotating binding structure and mix-matched facsimile images from NYAM’s rare book collections to allow students to create their own unique, moveable pieces of art.
3. Renaissance Illustration Techniques Workshop with Marie Dauenheimer, Medical Illustrator
Artists and anatomists passionate about the mysteries of the human body drove anatomical investigation during the Renaissance. In this workshop, students will learn and apply the techniques used by Renaissance artists to illustrate anatomical specimens.
4. Understanding the Hand, physical anthropology workshop with Sam Dunlap, Ph.D.
Basic anatomical dissection, illustration, and knowledge continue to be fundamental in many fields from evolutionary biology to surgery, medical training, and forensic science. This workshop will offer participants the opportunity to explore the human hand and its anatomy, which will be demonstrated with at least three dissections.
Workshop registration fees cover both the workshop and all-day admission to the Festival.
For more information and to register, see http://nyamcenterforhistory.org/vesalius-500/
Paul Theerman, PhD
Associate Director
Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health
New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY, 10029
212.822.7350
http://nyamcenterforhistory.org/
