Showing posts with label party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label party. Show all posts

Thursday, May 16, 2013

This Saturday, May 18th: Celebrate The London Hunterian's 200th Birthday With Lectures, Reception, and Book Release Party for "Medical Museums: Past, Present and Future" With Chapter by Morbid Anatomy!

This Saturday, May 18th, London's Hunterian Museum will be celebrating its 200th birthday (!!!!!) with a series of lectures, a late view of the new exhibition, and a reception and party for their new, lavishly illustrated and utterly essential collection of essays showcasing medical museums around the world entitled Medical Museums: Past, Present and Future.

The lectures--which begin at 4:30 PM--and reception and late view--beginning at 6:00 PM--are free but require a reservation; a special dinner beginning at 7:30 PM will run you £65; you can RSVP for all at 020 7869 6568.


The book--whose cover you see above--was edited by Hunterian director Samuel Alberti and Dr. Elizabeth Hallam, Universities of Aberdeen and Oxford to commemorate the museums' bicentennial, and is richly illustrated with hundreds of photos of many of the worlds most wonderful medical museums. You will also notice a wee chapter of my own, which features many never before shared photos of medical museum back rooms.

You can find out more about the book in the following press release, and can order a copy by emailing shop [at] rcseng.ac.uk or calling 020 7869 6562.

Hope very much to see you at Saturday's festivities!

Medical Museums: Past, Present and Future
Edited by Samuel J M M Alberti and Elizabeth Hallam

This book brings together a unique collaboration of curators and scholars from Europe and the United States to open up new perspectives on the past, present and future of medical museums.

Offering readers unrivalled access to international collections of preserved animal and human bodies, instruments and art, Medical Museums features many previously unpublished images and untold stories from this fascinating and disturbing world.
Medical Museums is a bold, eclectic anthology that offers readers a unique opportunity to experience this compelling heritage through clearly written, well-informed text and sumptuous images. Insightful essays informed by current debates in medical history, anthropology, museology and visual studies are complemented by astonishing images provided by both well-known and niche museums from around the world. With unparalleled coverage provided by curators, the 17 richly illustrated chapters explore collections from Aberdeen to Zurich including: Berlin (the Charité), Cleveland (the Dittrick), Copenhagen (the Medical Museion), Edinburgh (Surgeons’ Hall), Florence (La Specola), Leiden, London (the Hunterian Museum, the Science Museum, and Wellcome Collection), Philadelphia (the Mütter), Stockholm (the Karolinska Institute), Washington DC (the National Museum of Health and Medicine and the Smithsonian).

Published by The Royal College of Surgeons of England to commemorate the bicentenary of the Hunterian Museum.

Paperback, 256 pages; H 23, W18cm; 250 b/w and colour illustrations (Code 879)
You can find out more about the events here, and order a copy of the book by emailing shop [at] rcseng.ac.uk or calling 020 7869 6562.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Tonight: "Resurrection:" 3rd Annual Observatory Fundraiser and Costume Party! Come Over!

Lord Whimsy! Resurrection-themed art! Evan Michelson, Morbid Anatomy Scholar in residence and star of TV's Oddities! Brand new episodes of The Midnight Archive! Kikkerland giveaways! Costume contest! Booze and debauchery!

Come celebrate three years of rational amusements and arcane knowledge tonight at Observatory! Hope very much to see you there!
RESURRECTION 3rd Annual Observatory Fundraiser and Costume Party
Please come support us at our RESURRECTION-themed annual fundraiser costume party and group art show opening!
Date: Saturday, February 2nd
Time: 8pm
Admission: $20

Observatory has had quite a year, full of fires, floods, threats of floods, and much more besides. On Saturday, February 2nd, we cordially invite you to join us in celebrating our against-the-odds survival in the face of it all with our 4th anniversary back-from-the-dead-themed fundraiser. This party will also serve as the inauguration for our "Resurrection" group show, which will open to the public this evening.

The party will feature:
* Costume contest with Celebrity Judge Evan Michelson of TV's Oddities. Best "resurrection" costume wins!
* Screening of brand new episodes from  Ronni Thomas' Midnight Archive series
* Charm and handsomeship by MC Lord Whimsy
* Music by DJ Mangoose
* Kikkerland giveaways
* Glorious raffle prizes including a gift certificate from Palo Santo restaurant; books and CDs from green witch Robin Rose Bennett; Books and merch from Morbid Anatomy; Tarot readings by Shannon Taggart; Abraxas Esoteric Journal; Audiobooks from Hachette, and more!
* Artwork by Grace Baxter, Ben Blatt, Jesse Bransford, Ryan Matthew Cohn, Joanna Ebenstein, Barbara EnsorEthan Gould, Pam Grossman, Megan Hays, Katie Innamorato, Sue Jeiven, Amber Joliffe, Megan Murtha, Rebeca Olguin, Katy Pierce, Sigrid Sarda, Dana Sherwood, Mark Splatter, Daisy Tainton; Shannon Taggart
* Lots of booze and treats!  YES!
More here.

Monday, January 28, 2013

The Victorian Love Affair with Death! Morbid Anatomy Going Away Party! Death-Themed Screenings! "Resurrection" Themed Gala! Santa Muerte! Taxidermy! Insect Shadowboxes! The Cult of Beautiful Death! Morbid Anatomy Presents in February

This will be a very exciting February at Morbid Anatomy Presents. This Friday the 1st, we will be showing death-themed films in tandem with Imagine Science. In the weeks that follow, we have two insect shadowbox classes, including one special Valentine's Day edition (Feb. 2 and 10); two raccoon head taxidermy class with rogue taxidermist Katie Innamorato (Feb. 9 and 23) a resurrection-themed art show and fundraising costume extravaganza (Feb. 2); a workshop on research methods for artists and scholars with Rachel Herschman (February 3, 1:00 PM); a Santa Muerte book singing and party complete with mariachi band, funeral flowers, mini-exhibit and wedding cake (Feb. 3, 7:00 PM); a class on the art of Victorian hair jewelry (Feb. 5); Blake Schwarzenbach of the seminal punk band Jawbreaker waxing poetic on "death as muse" and playing a set (Feb. 7); An illustrated lecture on the Victorian love affair with death doubling as a Morbid Anatomy going away party with artisinal cocktails by Friese Undine (Feb. 8th); an illustrated lecture on the cult of beautiful death in Vienna (February 12) and a special Valentine's Day lecture and reading with Tattoo Scholars Anna Felicity Friedman and Matt Lodder (Feb. 14).

Full details follow on all events; hope very much to see you at one or more!

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"All My Tomorrows," Directed by Sonia Herman Dolz: Film Screening with Imagine Science Films
Screening with Imagine Science Films
Date: Friday, February 1
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and Imagine Science Films

Tonight, join Imagine Science Films and Morbid Anatomy for an exclusive U.S. premiere screening of "All My Tomorrows" directed by Sonia Herman Dolz. Imagine Science Films aims to transform the way science and scientists are portrayed in mainstream media, while emphasizing the importance of storytelling, narrative structure, and visual communication.
About the film:

"One must never forget that one dies not from disease, but from life," wrote the philosopher Michel de Montaigne. Five centuries later, cancer surgeon Casper van Eijck arrives at the same conclusion: "You get cancer because you're alive." This film follows Van Eijck as he goes about his daily tasks at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. We also meet a cell biologist, a night nurse, a pediatric oncologist and a pathologist. Examining a culture of rapidly multiplying cancer cells, the biologist sighs, "That you can reveal so much, but know so little about what's going on." We owe progress in medical science exclusively to unremitting human curiosity and attentiveness; the fundamentals have changed little since Hippocrates. Then as now, doctors relied on human techniques of looking, feeling and cutting. We also see patients and parents of sick children respond bravely to the devastating news doctors so often have to give. Perhaps mice will provide the answer to the question of why cells divide uncontrollably, because this animal shares 80% of its genes with humans.

Imagine Science Films is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in existence since 2008 committed to promoting a high-level dialogue between scientists and filmmakers. ISF encourages a greater collaboration between scientists who dedicate their lives to studying the world we live in and filmmakers who have the power to interpret and expose this knowledge, ultimately making science accessible and stimulating to a broader audience.
Imagine Science Films is committed to drawing attention to the sciences, whether it is through art or our community outreach efforts.

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Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop with Former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
With Daisy Tainton, Former Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History
Date: Sunday, February 2
Time: 1 - 4 PM
Admission: $65
***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com to be added to class list (please specify date)
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy


Today, join former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton for a special Valentine's Day-themed edition of Observatory's popular Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop. In this class, students will work with Rhinoceros beetles: nature's tiny giants. Each student will learn to make--and leave with their own!--shadowbox dioramas featuring carefully positioned beetles doing nearly anything you can imagine. Beetles and shadowboxes are provided, and an assortment of miniature furniture, foods, and other props will be available to decorate your habitat. Students need bring nothing, though are encouraged to bring along dollhouse props if they have a particular vision for their final piece; 1:12 scale work best.

Daisy Tainton was formerly Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History, and has been working with insects professionally for several years. Eventually her fascination with insects and  love of Japanese miniature food items naturally came together, resulting in cute and ridiculous museum-inspired yet utterly unrealistic dioramas. Beetles at the dentist? Beetles eating pie and knitting sweaters? Even beetles on the toilet? Why not?

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RESURRECTION 3rd Annual Observatory Fundraiser and Costume Party
Please come support us at our RESURRECTION-themed annual fundraiser costume party and group art show opening!
Date: Saturday, February 2nd
Time: 8pm
Admission: $20


Observatory has had quite a year, full of fires, floods, threats of floods, and much more besides. On Saturday, February 2nd, we cordially invite you to join us in celebrating our against-the-odds survival in the face of it all with our 4th anniversary back-from-the-dead-themed fundraiser. This party will also serve as the inauguration for our "Resurrection" group show, which will open to the public this evening.

The party will feature:
* Costume contest with Celebrity Judge Evan Michelson of TV's Oddities. Best "resurrection" costume wins!
* Screening of brand new episodes from  Ronni Thomas' Midnight Archive series
* Charm and handsomeship by MC Lord Whimsy
* Music by DJ Mangoose
* Kikkerland giveaways
* Glorious raffle prizes including a gift certificate from Palo Santo restaurant; books and CDs from green witch Robin Rose Bennett; Books and merch from Morbid Anatomy; Tarot readings by Shannon Taggart; Abraxas Esoteric Journal; Audiobooks from Hachette, and more!
* Artwork by Grace Baxter, Ben Blatt, Jesse Bransford, Ryan Matthew Cohn, Joanna Ebenstein, Barbara EnsorEthan Gould, Pam Grossman, Megan Hays, Katie Innamorato, Sue Jeiven, Amber Joliffe, Megan Murtha, Rebeca Olguin, Katy Pierce, Sigrid Sarda, Dana Sherwood, Mark Splatter, Daisy Tainton, & Shannon Taggart
* Lots of booze and treats!  YES!
Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Research Methods for Artists and Scholars: A Workshop with Rachel Herschman 
Date: Sunday, February 3
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Admission: $20
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

For curious exploration or focused research--this course will provide participants with strategies for investigating a topic and tricks for discovering the unexpected. From card catalogs to digital search tools, learn about a range of resources and how to use them with savvy. Find out how to gain borrowing privileges at university libraries and access to private collections.
We will also discuss how to critically evaluate both primary and secondary sources. A range of materials will be used to demonstrate how to get the most out of what you unearth in libraries and archives.

Participants are encouraged (but not required) to come with their own research topic.
Rachel Herschman is a PhD Candidate in Germanics at the University of Washington. She is currently writing her dissertation on the history of puppets and puppetry in 20th century Germany. Rachel is an educator at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and lives in New York.

Image: Old “Main Building” of the Public Library of Cincinnatti, 1874. The building seen below closed in 1955. Source

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 “Viva la Muerte: The Mushrooming Cult of Saint Death” : Lecture, Book Signing and Party
Illustrated lecture by Professor R. Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint; Q and A moderated by The Revealer's David Metcalfe; Music and cocktails by Friese Undine; Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde wedding cake and Funeral floral arrangements compliments of Tonya Hurley and Tracy Hurley Martin; Mini-exhibit of newly-donated Santa Muerte materials from the Morbid Anatomy Library; Live music by Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino
Date: Sunday, February 3
Time: 7:00 (Doors at 6:00)
Admission: $12
Produced by Morbid Anatomy and Borderline Projects
*** Copies of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint will be available for sale and signing

On Sunday, February 3rd, please join us to celebrate the Morbid Anatomy Library's new acquisition of a large and spectacular lot of materials relating to Santa Muerte, a Mexican-based “cult” or possibly even a “new religion” which takes as its central figure a sanctified Lady Death. Literally translating to “Holy Death” or “Saint Death,” the worship of Santa Muerte--like Day of the Dead--is a popular form of religious expression rooted in a rich syncretism of the beliefs of the native Latin Americans and the colonizing Spanish Catholics.

Tonight's celebration will begin with a highly-illustrated lecture on the roots, history and worship of Santa Muerte by Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut, Chair in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint. Following, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions during a Q and A which with the lecturer and death in Mexico scholar Salvador Olguín moderated by David Metcalfe of The Revealer.
Come early (doors open at 6) and stay late to enjoy special artisanal cocktails utilizing the favorite spirits of "The Boney Lady" herself, compliments of Friese Undine. You can also admire--and indulge in!--a special Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde Wedding Cake with special topper by Heidi Holmes, compliments of our generous Santa Muerte artifact donors Tonya Hurley and Tracy Hurley Martin, and take in a temporary mini-exhibit of the amazing donations themselves. There will also be live mariachi music  by Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino, gorgeous funeral floral arrangements, and Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut will be happy to sign copies of his new book Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint which will be available for sale.

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Class: The Victorian Art of Hair Jewelry with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
With Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Date: Tuesday, February 5
Time: 7-11 PM
Admission: $75
***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com to be added to class list; 15 person limit
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Hair jewelry was an enormously popular form of commemorative art that began in the late 17th century and reached its zenith during the Victorian Era. Hair, either of someone living or deceased, was encased in metal lockers or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class will explore a modern take on the genre.
The technique of "palette working" or arranging hair in artful swoops and curls will be explored and a variety of ribbons, beads, wire and imagery of mourning iconography will be supplied for potential inclusion. A living or deceased person or pet may be commemorated in this manner.
Students are requested to bring with them to class their own hair, fur, or feathers; all other necessary materials will be supplied. Hair can be self-cut, sourced from barber shops or hair salons (who are usually happy to provide you with swept up hair), from beauty supply shops (hair is sold as extensions), or from wig suppliers. Students will leave class with their own piece of hair jewelry and the knowledge to create future projects.

Karen Bachmann is a fine jeweler with over 25 years experience, including several years on staff as a master jeweler at Tiffany & Co. She is a Professor in the Jewelry Design Dept at Fashion Institute of Technology as well as the School of Art & Design at Pratt Institute. She has recently completed her MA in Art History at SUNY Purchase with a thesis entitled Hairy Secrets:... In her downtime she enjoys collecting biological specimens, amateur taxidermy and punk rock.

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Death As Muse: An Intimate Evening With Blake Schwarzenbach, Musician, Painter, Jawbreaker, Forgetter
Date: Thursday, February 7
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy'

From Dante to Donnie Darko perhaps no other idea has inspired more creative pursuits than life’s final act: death. Love, it could be argued, is a close second—and if that’s the case, let us bow down yet again to Woody Allen’s film, Love and Death.

Which brings us to the man at the darkened heart of tonight’s event: Blake Schwarzenbach, who has sampled a line from one of Mr. Allen’s films in a song. Schwarzenbach, you see, also knows from love and death.

As the singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the late, much-loved Bay Area punk trio Jawbreaker, Schwarzenbach once sang: “We met in rain, you asked me in, seemed like a good sign. Now I need a guillotine to get you off my mind.”

 With his newest group, Forgetters, he's gone darker.
How dark?

Here’s the cold data: Over 11 bloody tracks on the band’s eponymous–and somewhat psychedelic–new record, released in late 2012, there are roughly 27 lyrical variations on the word “death.” And there are multiple instances within just one song title: “O Deadly Death.”
That’s not to say Schwarzenbach doesn’t have a sense of humor. On an earlier Forgetters EP, after all, he cleverly made a verb out of tennis great John McEnroe (to throw a McEnroe is to have a very public fit.)

It is, in fact, the sui generis way Schwarzenbach balances light and dark, wit and warts, romance and rancor—both musically and lyrically—that makes his creative work so compelling. Or, as the writer Maccabee Montandon has put it: Schwarzenbach’s songs are “bounding, literate, often hyper-local anthems about pony-keg-powered house parties, girls he adored, girls he did not adore and books. Kerouac and cop killing live in a single lyrical line.”
On this evening, Schwarzenbach and Montandon will discuss the music, muses, and more: Schwarzenbach has grown increasingly interested in visual arts, painting and sculpting prolifically in his Brooklyn apartment; some of his pieces will be on display tonight. Following the conversation, Schwarzenbach will play solo acoustic versions of a few of his songs and take questions from the crowd. His own personal nine circles of hell revealed!

Image: "Impossible t-shirts" (a series). Blake Schwarzenbach. Pen, acrylic, graph paper. 2012.

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The Victorian Love Affair with Death and the Art of Mourning Hair Jewelry: Morbid Anatomy Going Away Party and Part Three of "Hairy Secrets" Series
Illustrated lecture with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann and Morbid Anatomy Going Away Party, with Cocktails and Music by Friese Undine
Date: Friday, February 8 (Formerly January 31; Please note date change)
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $10
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
***Part 3 of a 3 part series "Hairy Secrets: Human Relic as Memory Object in Victorian Mourning Jewelry"


The Victorians had a love affair with death which they expressed in a variety of ways, both intensely sentimental and macabre. Tonight's lecture--the last in a 3-part series on human relics and Victorian mourning jewelry--will take as its focus the apex of the phenomenon of hair jewelry fashion in the Victorian Era as an expression of this passion. Nineteenth century mourning rituals will be discussed, with a particular focus on Victorian hairwork jewelry, both palette worked and table worked. Also discussed will be the historical roots of the Victorian fascination with death, such as high mortality rates for both adults and children, the rise of the park cemetery, and the death of Queen Victoria's beloved Prince Albert and her subsequent fashion-influencing 40-year mourning period. Historical samples of hair art and jewelry from the lecturer's personal collection will also be shown.

Karen Bachmann is a fine jeweler with over 25 years experience, including several years on staff as a master jeweler at Tiffany & Co. She is a Professor in the Jewelry Design Dept at Fashion Institute of Technology as well as the School of Art & Design at Pratt Institute. She has recently completed her MA in Art History at SUNY Purchase with a thesis entitled "Hairy Secrets; Human Relic as Memory Object in Victorian Mourning Jewelry". In her downtime she enjoys collecting biological specimens, amateur taxidermy and punk rock.

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Raccoon Head Taxidermy Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Saturday, February 9
Time: 11 – 5 PM
Admission: $350
***SOLD OUT; Email morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com to be added to wait list
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

This course will introduce students to basic and fundamental taxidermy techniques and procedures. Students will be working with donated raccoon skins and will be going through the steps to do a head mount. The class is only available to 5 students, allowing for more one on one interaction and assistance. Students will be working with tanned and lightly prepped skin; there will be no skinning of the animals in class. This is a great opportunity to learn the basic steps to small and large mammal taxidermy. All materials will be supplied by the instructor, and you will leave class with your own raccoon head mount.

Rogue taxidermist Katie Innamorato has a BFA in sculpture from SUNY New Paltz, has been featured on the hit TV show "Oddities," and has had her work featured at La Luz de Jesus gallery in Los Angeles, California. She is self and professionally taught, and has won multiple first place ribbons and awards at the Garden State Taxidermy Association Competition. Her work is focussed on displaying the cyclical connection between life and death and growth and decomposition. Katie is a member of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, and with all M.A.R.T. members she adheres to strict ethical guidelines when acquiring specimens and uses roadkill, scrap, and donated skins to create mounts.
Her website and blogs-
www.afterlifeanatomy.com
www.afterlifeanatomy.tumblr.com
www.facebook.com/afterlifeanatomy
www.etsy.com/shop/afterlifeanatomy


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Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop: Special Valentine's Day Edition, with Former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
With Daisy Tainton, Former Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History
Date: Sunday, February 10 (Special Valentine's Day Edition!)
Time: 1 - 4 PM
Admission: $65
***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com to be added to class list
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy


Today, join former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton for a special Valentine's Day-themed edition of Observatory's popular Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop. In this class, students will work with Rhinoceros beetles: nature's tiny giants. Each student will learn to make--and leave with their own!--shadowbox dioramas featuring carefully positioned beetles doing nearly anything you can imagine. Beetles and shadowboxes are provided, and an assortment of miniature furniture, foods, and other props will be available to decorate your habitat. Students need bring nothing, though are encouraged to bring along dollhouse props if they have a particular vision for their final piece; 1:12 scale work best.

Daisy Tainton was formerly Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History, and has been working with insects professionally for several years. Eventually her fascination with insects and  love of Japanese miniature food items naturally came together, resulting in cute and ridiculous museum-inspired yet utterly unrealistic dioramas. Beetles at the dentist? Beetles eating pie and knitting sweaters? Even beetles on the toilet? Why not?

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"Schöne Leiche," or "The Beautiful Corpse": The Cult of Beautiful Death in Vienna
Illustrated lecture by Mark 'Splatter' Batelli; thematic drinks and music by Friese Undine
Date: Tuesday, February 12
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Tonight's highly illustrated lecture will explore the special Viennese relationship to death as exemplified by their notion of Schöne Leiche, or the "Beautiful Corpse." Batelli will trace the history of this distinctive approach to mortality and discuss funerary customs, mourning culture, black humor, idiom, art, music, suicide and psychology, providing examples and exploring its origins and development in the former imperial capital. Before and after the lecture, enjoy special thematic "Death in Vienna" artisinal cocktails and music complements of artist Friese Undine.

Mark 'Splatter' Batelli is an artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He lived 5 years In Berlin and traveled extensively travels through Europe, spending much time in Vienna.


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Tragic Tattoo Tales: A Valentine’s Day Lecture and Reading with Tattoo Scholars Anna Felicity Friedman and Matt Lodder
Illustrated lecture and reading with tattoo scholars Anna Felicity Friedman and Matt Lodder
Date: Thursday, February 14 (Yes, Valentine's Day!)
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Love, loss… and disfigurement, murder, and flayed skin (with a bit of cannibalism and sadism thrown in for good measure). What better way to spend your Valentine’s Day evening than to join us for a glass of red wine, a bite of delicious chocolate, and a lecture on the history of tattooing combined with a reading of a series of historical tattoo-centered short stories by authors such as Roald Dahl (1958), Saki (1911), Junichiro Tanazaki (1910) and John Rickman (1781)?

Tonight, please join us for an evening with tattoo scholars Anna Felicity Friedman and Matt Lodder (both heavily tattooed themselves) who will lecture about and read tales that interweave tattoo history with romance and the macabre. Through illustrated slide lectures, Drs. Friedman and Lodder will present comparative historical material to provide context and deeper understanding and to separate fact from fiction. Learn about wide ranging tattoo topics in both Western and non-Western cultures and have questions answered that the stories raise. Did people really preserve tattooed skin? What were people reading about tattoos in the early twentieth century? Were Maori really tattooed head to foot? What were the connections between Ukiyo-e and Japanese tattooing in the Edo period?
And the stories… Come hear the account of a young Maori woman and an English sailor who had himself completely tattooed to gain her favor, only to be forcibly returned to his ship (in John Rickman’s 1781 travel narrative from Captain James Cook’s third voyage). Cringe at the tale of a businessman tattooed in Italy with an elaborate scene, but who was prohibited from ever showing it to anyone, swimming, or leaving the country (in Saki’s 1911 “The Background”). Shudder at the story of a Japanese woman lured into a tattooer’s studio, drugged, and forcibly tattooed (in Junichiro Tanazaki’s 1910 “Shisei (The Tattooer)”. Enjoy the fantasy of a young and not-yet famous Chaim Soutine who, during a bacchanalian evening, rendered a dorsal portrait of a tattoo artist’s wife that later mysteriously turns up as a “canvas” in an art gallery (in Roald Dahl’s 1952 “Skin”). Additional images related to the stories will be screened during the readings.
Chocolate and red wine will make things festive.

Anna Felicity Friedman has been researching the history of tattooing for over 20 years. Her recently completed PhD, from the University of Chicago, focuses on tattooed transculturites—Europeans and Americans who acquired non-Western tattoos as part of a process of cultural identity transformation. Her photoblog, Tattoo History Daily, offers glimpses into myriad aspects of tattoo history. An interdisciplinary scholar, she has taught, written, and lectured about body art, maps, rare books, and other sundry topics, works as a freelance curator, and currently teaches hybrid literature/film/art courses at the University of Chicago.

Matt Lodder is a London-based art historian. His work is primarily concerned with the history of Western tattooing and the artistic status of body art and body modification practices including tattooing, body piercing and cosmetic surgery. He writes regularly for Total Tattoo magazine, gives public lectures on tattoo history and related topics, works as a freelance writer and broadcaster for both radio and television, and teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in contemporary art and theory at the University of Reading and the University of Birmingham. He is currently writing a book called 'Tattoo: An Art History' for IB Tauris, due for publication in 2014.

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Raccoon Head Taxidermy Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Saturday, February 23
Time: 11 – 5 PM
Admission: $350
***SOLD OUT; Email morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com to be added to wait list
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

This course will introduce students to basic and fundamental taxidermy techniques and procedures. Students will be working with donated raccoon skins and will be going through the steps to do a head mount. The class is only available to 5 students, allowing for more one on one interaction and assistance. Students will be working with tanned and lightly prepped skin; there will be no skinning of the animals in class. This is a great opportunity to learn the basic steps to small and large mammal taxidermy. All materials will be supplied by the instructor, and you will leave class with your own raccoon head mount.

Rogue taxidermist Katie Innamorato has a BFA in sculpture from SUNY New Paltz, has been featured on the hit TV show "Oddities," and has had her work featured at La Luz de Jesus gallery in Los Angeles, California. She is self and professionally taught, and has won multiple first place ribbons and awards at the Garden State Taxidermy Association Competition. Her work is focussed on displaying the cyclical connection between life and death and growth and decomposition. Katie is a member of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, and with all M.A.R.T. members she adheres to strict ethical guidelines when acquiring specimens and uses roadkill, scrap, and donated skins to create mounts.
Her website and blogs-
www.afterlifeanatomy.com
www.afterlifeanatomy.tumblr.com
www.facebook.com/afterlifeanatomy
www.etsy.com/shop/afterlifeanatomy

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You can find out more about all of these events here, or sign up for them on Facebook by clicking here.

Image: Victorian Mourners; found here.

Friday, December 21, 2012

TONIGHT: Morbid Anatomy and Ghoul A Go-Go Holiday Krampus Party with "DEVILS" Show Premiere!

Tonight--Saturday December 22--please join Morbid Anatomy, Ghoul a Go Go and the cloven hooved Krampus himself for a booze-addled celebration of the darker side of Christmas!

You can read the Brooklyn Paper's writeup here; Full details follow; Hope very much to see you there!
Morbid Anatomy and Ghoul A Go-Go Holiday Krampus Party with "DEVILS" Show Premiere!
Date: Saturday, December 22

Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $13
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
* Premiere of Ghoul A Go-Go's "DEVILS" show with Vlad and Creighton appearing LIVE!!
* A screening of the bizarro Mexican holiday classic feature film Santa Claus (1959)! The devil Pitch is on the loose! Can Christmas be saved?
* "Beelzebab "Siren of Sodom" performs live burlesque!
* Mistress Dominae Drakonis beats the naughty!
* Mulled Wine! Krampus cake! Piñata! More fun than you can beat with a stick!
Ghoul A Go-Go and Morbid Anatomy are throwing a Krampus holiday party to celebrate the world premiere of Ghoul A Go-Go's new "DEVILS" show! The ghost of Sammy Davis Jr. will not be there, but Vlad and Creighton will pour on more entertainment than a naughty child can handle. Beelzebabe, Siren of Sodom, will perform her scorching "Bad Girls Go To Hell" burlesque--an act one archbishop cited as the cause of his fall from grace! To add to the Krampus festivities, Mistress Dominae Drakonis, in all her satanic majesty, will deal out beatings to the naughty. There will be mulled wine to spice things up even further, as well as a Krampus cake. For your visual entertainment, there will be a screening of the 1959 Mexican classic film, Santa Claus, featuring the the devil Pitch. A piñata will be beaten. You will also have the privilege of being the first to see the brand new Ghoul A Go-Go episode on the big screen in all its devilish glory! To grind things to halt, there will be an Observatory styled lecture on Christmas. And then back to the party! It'll be more fun than a sack full of children so wear your best Krampus costume!
More here.

"Viva la Muerte: The Mushrooming Cult of Saint Death"--A New Event Just in Time for The End of the World

It seems only appropriate to announce Morbid Anatomy's newest event "Viva la Muerte: The Mushrooming Cult of Saint Death" on this day, December 21, 2012, which many believe to be the end of the world as predicted by the long-cycle Mayan calendar.

This epic event--which will take place on Sunday February 3rd--will investigate via lecture, moderated Q and A, mini exhibit of newly acquired Santa Muerte materials and general merrymaking the fascinating and growing phenomenon of "Santa Muerte," a new Mexican-based religion born of the fertile mix of indigenous Mayan and Aztec beliefs with that of Spanish Catholicism.

Full information follows; very much hope to see you there!

Oh, and happy end of the world, everybody!!
"Viva la Muerte: The Mushrooming Cult of Saint Death" : Lecture, Book Signing and Party
Illustrated lecture by Professor R. Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint; Q and A moderated by The Revealer's David Metcalfe; Music and cocktails by Friese Undine; Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde wedding cake and Funeral floral arrangements compliments of Tonya Hurley and Tracy Hurley Martin; Mini-exhibit of newly-donated Santa Muerte materials from the Morbid Anatomy Library

Date: Sunday, February 3
Time: 7:00 (Doors at 6:00)
Admission: $12
Produced by Morbid Anatomy and Borderline Projects
*** Copies of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint will be available for sale and signing

On Sunday, February 3rd, please join us to celebrate the Morbid Anatomy Library's new acquisition of a large and spectacular lot of materials relating to Santa Muerte, a Mexican-based “cult” or possibly even a “new religion” which takes as its central figure a sanctified Lady Death. Literally translating to “Holy Death” or “Saint Death,” the worship of Santa Muerte--like Day of the Dead--is a popular form of religious expression rooted in a rich syncretism of the beliefs of the native Latin Americans and the colonizing Spanish Catholics.

Tonight's celebration will begin with a highly-illustrated lecture on the roots, history and worship of Santa Muerte by Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut, Chair in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint. Following, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions during a Q and A which with the lecturer and death in Mexico scholar Salvador Olguín moderated by David Metcalfe of The Revealer.

Come early (doors open at 6) and stay late to enjoy thematic music and special artisanal cocktails utilizing the favorite spirits of "The Boney Lady" herself, compliments of Friese Undine. You can also admire--and indulge in!--a special Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde Wedding Cake compliments of our generous Santa Muerte artifact donors Tonya Hurley and Tracy Hurley Martin, and take in a temporary mini-exhibit of the amazing donations themselves. There will also be gorgeous funeral floral arrangements by Emily Thompson Flowers, and Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut will be happy to sign copies of his new book Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint which will be available for sale.
More here. For more on Santa Muerte and the Morbid Anatomy Library's new lot of artifacts, click here.

Monday, October 22, 2012

"Morbid Anatomy Anthology" Fundraiser! Halloween Insect Shadowboxes! Sugar Skull Workshop! Day of the Dead Party! Morbid Anatomy Presents This Week and Beyond at Observatory

Morbid Anatomy Presents This Week and Beyond at Observatory: Morbid Anatomy Anthology publication fundraising party with mini-lectures, cocktails, giveaways, screenings, music and delightful co-editor Colin Dickey! Thematic Halloween edition of our popular Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox class! Sugar Skull workshop! Observatory annual Day of the Dead Party!

Hope to see you at one or more of these great events.
"The Morbid Anatomy Anthology" Publication Fundraiser Party
Fundraising Party for "The Morbid Anatomy Anthology" with contributor mini-lectures. complementary artisinal cocktails, music, and giveaways from Kikkerland
Date: Friday, October 26
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $20
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
We are very pleased to announce the forthcoming Morbid Anatomy Anthology--a lavish, illustrated book which will immortalize in print some of the best of the Morbid Anatomy Presents lecture series from the past 5 years. The book, to be co-published by Morbid Anatomy and Strange Attractor Press, will be edited by Morbid Anatomy's Joanna Ebenstein and author, polymath, and many time Observatory-presenter Colin Dickey.

Tonight's party-- the proceeds of which will go towards the printing and production costs of The Morbid Anatomy Anthology--will feature 15 minute mini-lectures by 4 contributors to the volume: Mark Dery, Colin DickeyShannon Taggart and Joanna Ebenstein. There will also be a Midnight Archive screening, complementary artisinal cocktails and music provided by Friese Undine and giveaways of wonderful anatomical cutting boards from Kikkerland.

ABOUT THE BOOK
The Morbid Anatomy Anthology will cover such topics as anthropodermic bibliopegy (ie. books bound in human skin), 19th Century "Diableries", Henry Wellcome's collections of preserved human tattoos, 19th century death-themed Parisian cabarets, extreme taxidermy, popular wax anatomical models, collecting death, the Anatomical Venus, Santa Muerte and Death in Mexico, "artist of death" Frederik Ruysch, macabre collections, and much, much, MUCH more.

The rogue scholars, artists, writers, museologists, morticians and scientists whose works fill this volume will include Morbid Anatomy Library Scholar in Residence and star of TV's "Oddities" Evan Michelson; Mark Dery, cultural critic and author of the upcoming The Doubtful Guest: The Mysterious Mind and Legendary Life of Edward Gorey; Paul Koudounaris, author/photographer of Empire of Death; Stephen Asma, author of Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads; Caitlin Doherty of Order of the Good Death; Carl Schoonover, author of Portraits of the Mind; Mel Gordon, author of The Grand Guingol; Kate Forde, curator at The Wellcome Collection; Pat Morris, author of Walter Potter and His Museum of Curious Taxidermy; Ronni Thomas, creator of The Midnight Archive; John Troyer, deputy director of the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath; Artist Zoe Bellof; Photographer Shannon Taggart; Mark Pilkington of Strange Attractor Press; Ross MacFarlane of The Welcome Library; Joanna Ebenstein of Morbid Anatomy; writer Colin Dickey; and many, many more.

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Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop: Special Halloween Edition, with Former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
With Daisy Tainton, Former Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History
Dates: Saturday, October 27 (Special Halloween Edition!)
Time: 1 - 4 PM
Admission: $65
***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com to be added to class list
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Today, join former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton for a special Halloween-themed edition of Observatory's popular Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop. In this class, students will work with Rhinoceros beetles: nature's tiny giants. Each student will learn to make--and leave with their own!--shadowbox dioramas featuring carefully positioned beetles doing nearly anything you can imagine. Beetles and shadowboxes are provided, and an assortment of miniature furniture, foods, and other props will be available to decorate your habitat. Students need bring nothing, though are encouraged to bring along dollhouse props if they have a particular vision for their final piece; 1:12 scale work best. 

Daisy Tainton was formerly Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History, and has been working with insects professionally for several years. Eventually her fascination with insects and  love of Japanese miniature food items naturally came together, resulting in cute and ridiculous museum-inspired yet utterly unrealistic dioramas. Beetles at the dentist? Beetles eating pie and knitting sweaters? Even beetles on the toilet? Why not?

Image: "Suicide Beetle," By Daisy Tainton, Teacher of workshop

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Sugar Skull Decorating Workshop and Lecture: El Dia de los Muertos in Context -- How the Day of the Dead Exemplifies the Greater Culture of Death in Mexico
Workshop and lecture with Dru Munsell
Date: Monday, October 29
Time: 8:00
Admission: $50
Produced by Morbid Anatomy
**** Class size limited; must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com

Mexico possesses a rich and complex relationship with death that extends far beyond the Day of the Dead holiday and its iconic sugar skulls. Indeed, from Mexico's indigenous Mayans through her occupations and revolutions, death has taken a leading role in the formation of the country's varied culture, causing scholar Claudio Lomnitz to even name Death as the symbol of Mexico's national identity.

The lecture portion of this workshop seeks to facilitate a deeper understanding not only of Southern Mexico's sugar skulls and El Dia de los Muertos as a whole, but also framing what is often thought of as the Mexican version of Halloween within the greater context of a culture that has blended indigenous practices, colonization's Catholic religion, and the subsequent revolutions and violence, recognizing death as a necessary part of life not to be ignored or feared, but embraced and celebrated.
For this workshop, each attendee will be provided with a blank, undecorated sugar skull, fully assembled, dried, and ready to decorate. Royal icing in bright colors as well as other traditional decorative materials such as sequins and colored foils will be provided. Each attendee is encouraged to bring any personal decorating items they wish to use if they are making a skull for a specific departed individual, though smaller items are recommended. Traditional themes and patterns will be discussed, as well as decoration application techniques. At the end of the workshop, each person will have their own large sugar skull to take home. Because of the drying time involved with the royal icing, it is advised that skulls be left at Observatory to dry and set, and that finished skulls be picked up at the annual El Dia de los Muertos party. Extra blank skulls will be available for purchase for those interested, as well as directions for making the royal icing recipe that is recommended for skull decoration.

Dru Munsell is a biological anthropology degree candidate at Columbia University specializing in forensics, pathological human anatomy, and cultural fetish and taboo. She examines these topics in her thesis on the intersection of science and spectacle as literally embodied by both the "born different" and "working acts" of sideshow and circus performance. Dru currently works as an intern for the Morbid Anatomy Library as well as a scientific consultant, archivist, transcriber, and Jane-of-all-Trades for James Taylor's Shocked & Amazed: On and Off the Midway. After completing her studies, she plans to either work with the governmental agency, DMORT, doing body identification at scenes of mass death with a particular interest in the mass graves of post-colonial revolutions and genocides in Latin America, or running away and joining the circus.



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Annual Observatory Day of the Dead and Halloween Costume PartyMusic, Performance, Costumes, Tequila, Traditional Altar, Sugar Skulls, Death Piñata, and tacos provided by our favorite local taqueria Oaxaca!
Date: Saturday, November 3
Time: Doors at 8:00 PM, Performance at 9
Admission: $15
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and Borderline Projects
Please join us on Saturday, November 3 for the annual Observatory Halloween/Day of the Dead costume party! This year we will welcome back the ghosts of the dead in the tradition of our favorite holiday--the Mexican Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead--with Aztec dances and chants, traditional foods and drink, tacos catered by local favorite taqueria Oaxaca, episodes of The Midnight Archive, tequila, music, sugar skulls, our beloved La Catrina, a Day of the Dead Altar honoring the late Chavela Vargas and Neil Armstrong and, as always, an opportunity to strike a mortal blow to our beautiful piñata of Lady Death herself! There will also be, as always, the opportunity to don--and admire other!--amazing Day of the Dead-themed costumes.
The year's iteration will include:

ENTERTAINMENT!
  • Cetiliztli Nauhcampa: Aztec dances and chants
  • Borderline Projects's Salvador Olguín with a brief lecture on the origins and significance of Day of the Dead celebrations
  • The Midnight Archive: Screenings of The Midnight Archive, Ronni Thomas' web series based on Observatory
  • Music: Halloween music for the all night dance party
FOOD AND DRINK!
  • Event will be catered by local favorite taqueria Oaxaca!
TRADITIONAL DAY OF THE DEAD ATTRACTIONS!
  • Day of the Dead Altar honoring the late Chavela Vargas and Neil Armstrong.
  • Special appearance by our very own La Catrina
  • Pan de Muerto: Indulge in this traditional dessert called Bread of Death
  • Piñata: Dash death to smithereens with our annual death piñata!
  • Sugar skulls: Decorate and eat or bring home your own Day of the Dead sugar skull
  • Offerings to the Departed: In some places in Mexico, people leave small, coffin-like figures out for the souls of the departed. Guests are invited to leave their own offering; they will be available at the installation.
For photos from last years' party, click here. Hope very much to see you there.
Image: Rebeca Olguín
NOVEMBER EVENTS

November 8: *** POSTPONED; STAY TUNED FOR NEW DATE A Dark Day in New York: Dispatches from The New York Grimpendium: Lecture and launch party for book of death-related sites and artifacts in New York, with J.W. Ocker 

November 13:
The Abuses of Enchantment: Illustrated Lecture and Book Signing with Mark Pilkington, Author of “Mirage Men: An Adventure into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs” 

November 19: From the Akashic Jukebox: Magic and Music in Britain, 1888-1978: Illustrated Lecture and Rare British Occult Recordings with Mark Pilkington of Strange Attractor Press.
 You can get a full list of upcoming events by clicking here.