Morbid Anatomy Library In The New York Times; Open Tomorrow (Saturday, February 8) 2-6 PM; No Appointment Necessary!

Curious to know more about our own Brooklyn-based Morbid Anatomy Library? If so, you could do much worse than to check out this lovely writeup in The New York Times entitled "Death in the Afternoon, Then Drinks."

If the library seems of interest, why not pay us a visit? We are open to the public every Saturday from 2-6 PM; our next open day is tomorrow, February 8. We are located at 543 Union Street, (at Nevins). enter via Proteus Gowanus Gallery. Admission is free although, as the article mentions, "donations are accepted, both monetary and material." Some of our donated object include "a pair of emu feet and the human skeleton — a medical teaching model — [which] are here 'basically because wives wanted to get them out of the house.'"

Hope to see you at the library very soon!

Photo by Michael Kirby Smith, drawn from The New York Times story.

"'Morbid Anatomy Anthology': Brooklyn Art Group Seeks Funding For Curious New Book," The Huffington Post

From today's Huffington Post:

Morbid Anatomy Anthology': Brooklyn Art Group Seeks Funding For Curious New Book

Mummified remains, taxidermied animals, jarred body parts. These are the images that greet you when you visit the Kickstarter page for Morbid Anatomy.

The curiously named organization, housed in the Proteus Gowanus Gallery space in Brooklyn, is an arts-meets-science, subcultural playhouse that hosts lectures, performances and art exhibits all in the name of, well, oddities. Officially described as a survey of "the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture," Morbid Anatomy is really just a creative laboratory where curious scientists, artists, writers and weirdos get together to explore the underworld of scholarship that no one else gives a second glance. From anthropodermic bibliopegy (books bound in human skin) to extreme taxidermy to death-themed cabaret in 19th century Paris, the group covers just about any macabre topic you could imagine.


Morbid Anatomy showcases its esoteric findings in two ways -- a library/pocket museum hat showcases the books, photographs and ephemera of its obscure researchers and a presentation and lecture series titled "Morbid Anatomy Presents." But now the "rogue morticians" are seeking to add a third platform, announcing on their Kickstarter plans for a "Morbid Anatomy Anthology." The illustrated book will feature the best of the Morbid Anatomy Presents series, like the work of Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class teacher Sue Jeiven or "Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads" author Stephen Asma.

The Kickstarter launched today, already exceeding it's goal by over $15,000. Check out the video above to learn more about the project of Joanna Ebenstein and Colin Dickey. What do you think, readers? Does Morbid Anatomy lean in the direction of beauty or horror?

To read the entire article and see a slideshow on the work of the lovely Tessa Farmer, click here. To donate to the campaign and secure a copy of the book for your very own, click here.