BERLIN, GERMANY — The work of artist Gunther von Hagens elicits all sorts of reactions, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Hagens, famous (or infamous, depending upon viewpoint) for his “Body Worlds” series of skinless human cadavers posed as though they were engaged in everyday activities, is accustomed to the entire range.Including outrage, which has been one predictable response to his latest work, on display now as part of Hagens’ “Cycle of Life” show at Berlin’s Postbahnhof.
One of the pieces in the exhibit depicts a couple engaged in sexual intercourse in the “reverse cowgirl” position. German lawmakers are incensed.
“To earn money with corpses is absolutely unacceptable, but this couple is the worst thing yet and should not be shown,” Green Party representative Alice Stroever, who heads Berlin city parliament’s Culture Committee, told the German newspaper Bild.
“I think it is revolting,” added Michael Braun, a conservative lawmaker in the city parliament. “Hagens rides on a wave of taboo-breaking, and the couple plumbs the depths of tastelessness. I would prefer it not to be shown.”
One federal lawmaker has called for an investigation into whether the exhibit violates German law. Reportedly, he feels the copulating corpses violate the country’s ban on necrophilia.
“In my view this exhibit is not a piece of art that is protected by the constitution,” Kai Wegner told Bild.
Von Hagens is unfazed. He is committing neither crime nor sin, he maintains, by educating the public about how the human body is designed and functioned. In addition, his “plastination” process for preserving the donated corpses has become an indispensible tool for anatomy research and education.
Besides, he noted, he gets permission from the donors before he employs their remains in any way that could offend them or their relatives. One third of the women and two thirds of the men who donated their bodies to von Hagens’ projects agreed their remains could be displayed as though they were engaged in sexual activities.
“Death and sex are taboos,” von Hagens said. “I am bringing them together.”
“Cycle of Life” is not the first von Hagens exhibit to generate controversy. “Body Worlds” has travelled the globe multiple times, appearing in nearly every major city and at some of the most respected museums and scientific institutions. Still, in March a French judge ordered one show closed because he said it was indecent.
