A Look at Our 'Bodies,' Ourselves

Wandering recently through "Bodies . . . The Exhibition," the traveling anatomy show that has drawn controversy for its use of real, if rubberized, human corpses from China, I couldn't help thinking of the 2002 film "Tattoo," a macabre psychological thriller from Germany about someone who collects body art . . . needless to say, without the consent of the artworks' owners.

That's because there is, in fact, a patch of decorated human skin on view at the show, at the Dome in Rosslyn (formerly the Newseum). Sitting near the show's exit, this ghoulish little piece of skin art has little to do with the core mission of "Bodies," which is to explore, close up, the functioning of our physical selves. That purpose seems adequately served by another display case that comes much earlier in the exhibition, containing an entire human skin, laid out like a wet suit that zips up the sides and is intact down to the belly button and nipples.

Rather, the small patch of skin inked with a woman's face seems to serve as a tacit reminder that these bodies and body parts aren't just chunks of meat -- though a nearby showcase featuring "transverse human sections" resembles nothing so much as an array of pork chops at a butcher counter -- but that they come from, you know, people. (The specimens, according to the organizers, were all obtained legally from donated or unclaimed corpses.)

It's a message that "Bodies," to its credit -- and despite its somewhat detached-sounding title -- doesn't try to hide. Why else arrange some of the cadavers in the poses (and, occasionally, with the props) of a hitchhiker, orchestra conductor or basketball player? Why else leave the eyebrows on, when all the other skin has been carefully removed from the head and face? On second thought, I have no idea why they did that. That's just plain weird. But thanks for the nightmares.

Speaking of nightmares, "Bodies" is not above grossing you out. Chief among the list of specimens guaranteed to disturb is a teratoma, or tumor whose name comes from the Greek word for "monster." Not only is it honkin' huge, but you can look inside to see hair and teeth growing, along with an incipient eyeball forming on the outside. Nice.

Elsewhere, you'll find examples of a cancerous bone, goitrous thyroid, sclerotic artery and smoker's lung. See, "Bodies" also wants to promote "healthy lifestyle choices," according to its press materials. All of which is well and good. I applaud the fact that you're encouraged to toss your cigarettes into a bin after looking at the effects of emphysema and other lung diseases. But with widespread obesity becoming one of the more serious health risks to the American population, I question the pertinence of using cadavers that appear as scrawny as plucked chickens. A tub of fat under glass would be a better reminder of the more likely health risks we face than the fused spine bones of someone suffering from ankylosing spondylitis.

Much has been made of the scientific advances that have enabled the preservation of these specimens, in which a hard silicone polymer replaces all the water in the body. But when you come right down to it, despite all the futuristic embalming techniques, the stuff on display is, literally and figuratively, as bare bones as it comes. Absent are the high-tech "interactives" and touch-screen monitors we've grown used to finding at state-of-the-art science museum exhibitions.

In their place, you'll find a stripped-down, 21st-century version of a 19th-century cabinet of wonders, with a facsimile of the body's 60,000 miles of blood vessels, for example -- the superhighway inside our skin, glowing like red lacework -- replacing examples of the wonderful world around us.

Similarly old-school -- but not in a good way -- is the manner in which some body parts are labeled. In many cases, tiny and nearly invisible plastic tags have been affixed to such parts as the spinal nerves, making for eye strain (or worse, complete illegibility) in a dim lighting scenario that sometimes sacrifices didactics for drama.

Judging by the comments logged in the books set out at the show's exit, visitors' reactions have varied widely, including revulsion ("Gross!," wrote one), sadness at the display of fetuses (a convenient detour is offered for those who wish to avoid that section) and the conviction that the body's intricacy is proof positive of religious creationism.

Like our own bodies, fraught as we are with feelings about them that go beyond the corporeal, each visitor's take on the exhibition will be different. One thing, however, seems assured: The only buttons that will get pressed, in this bell-and-whistle-free zone, are the ones you enter with.

BODIES . . . THE EXHIBITION Through Oct. 28. The Dome in Rosslyn (formerly the Newseum), 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Metro: Rosslyn). http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com. Open Sunday-Wednesday from 10 to 7; Thursday-Saturday from 10 to 10. $26.50; seniors $21; ages 12 and younger $18. An audio tour is available for an additional $6. Group rates are available for students; emailinfo@ticketsforgroups.comor call 800-840-1157. Military personnel receive a 20 percent discount. From Sunday though May 19, women will receive a 20 percent discount in recognition of National Women's Health Week (discount valid only at box office). Tickets may be purchased by calling 888-263-4379 or online at http://www.bodiestickets.com.