Mysterious 1933 Autopsy Film: Michael Sappol from the National Library of Medicine Collection

Michael Sappol--historian at the National Library of Medicine, author of A Traffic of Dead Bodies, and curator of Dream Anatomy--just shared news of a mysterious film in his Library's collection. This 1933 film contains, in the Library's own words, "an autopsy, perhaps the first ever performed before a motion picture camera. On screen, a bespectacled man in a white coat happily cuts open an unidentified dead man, chatting all the while with students and colleagues..."

You can watch the film (probably NSFW) above. The full description of the film follows; you can also read a post about it on the Circulating Now blog.

Herr Professor Doktor Jakob Erdheim Search the transcript
1933 / 5:16
Film fragment, no producer, no director, Vienna, Austria
Silent, black-and-white.

Sometime in the last century a fragment of silent film landed at the National Library of Medicine. How it got there is a mystery: no paperwork survives to tell the tale; no other prints of the film appear to have survived; no other sources on its making or showing have turned up. The film itself gives no direct information on its origins or purpose. It has no real title or credits, only a single intertitle that tersely announces the featured player, setting, and time: “Herr Professor Doktor Jakob Erdheim. Prosektor. Krankenhaus Der Stadt Wien. September 1933.”

What comes after that is extraordinary, a minor landmark of medical cinema: an autopsy, perhaps the first ever performed before a motion picture camera. On screen, a bespectacled man in a white coat happily cuts open an unidentified dead man, chatting all the while with students and colleagues...

Medical Movies on the Web: The Mysterious Case of Petr Anokhin, Soviet Scientific Cinema, and the Conjoined Twins, Circa 1957

Our good friend Michael Sappol--author of A Traffic of Dead Bodies, curator of Dream Anatomy, and historian at the National Library of Medicine--just alerted us to a rare 1957 film about conjoined twins produced by the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow that has recently been digitized by the National Library of Medicine.

Full details on the film follow, and a few stills from the film can be found above. You can view the film in its entirety above (click play on top image) or at Medical Movies on the Web by clicking here.

In 1957, the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow released an unusual motion picture, Neural and Humoral Factors in the Regulation of Bodily Functions (Research on Conjoined Twins) (Исследования на неразделившихсия близнетсах). The Russian-language film was never widely circulated and is extremely rare: today the only accessible copy can be found in the historical audiovisuals collection of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The 45 minute movie documents research conducted on two pairs of conjoined twins (Ira and Galia, and Masha and Dasha) each of whom had a shared circulatory system, but completely separate nervous systems. Supervised by the founder of Soviet neurocybernetics Petr Anokhin (1898-1974), the first pair was studied during 1937-38 and the second in 1950-57. Never intended to reach beyond a narrow specialist audience, the film offers a rare glimpse into the history of Soviet physiology and “scientific cinema,” a peculiar cinematographic genre that had a long and distinguished history in Soviet Russia.

While the conjoined twins presented a unique opportunity for research into a variety of interesting questions — physiological and also psychological, genetic, immunological, and embryological — the movie only addresses the issue of the relative roles of neural and humoral (circulatory and lymphatic) factors in the functioning of the human organism, according the theories espoused by Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), Russia’s first Nobel Prize winner and the doyen of Soviet physiology. Yet surprisingly, Pavlov himself is never mentioned in the film’s running commentary, and the film gives very little information on either Ira and Galia or Masha and Dasha. Only Masha and Dasha lived to adulthood and, even though they were made to serve as child human research subjects, without the consent of parents or guardians, in some ways the film marks the happiest part of their lives, up to around the time of their seventh birthday, when they were well attended to and received relatively good treatment.

These puzzles are the subject of Nikolai Krementsov’s article, “A Cinematic and Physiological Puzzle: Conjoined Twins Research, Scientific Cinema and Pavlovian Physiology”.

To see the film in its entirety (in both a Russian-language closed-captioned-for-the-hearing-impaired version and an English-subtitled version) — and to read the essay, go to Medical Movies on the Web at https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collections/films/medicalmoviesontheweb/index.html.

Happy (Almost) Halloween with Some of Our Favorite Macabre Videos!

Above: "Dry Bones," The Lennon Sisters, The Lawrence Welk Show, 1965
Center: "The Skeleton Dance," Disney Silly Symphonies, 1929
Below: "You're Always Welcome at our House," lyrics by Shel Silverstein, performed by Marisa Berenson, star of Cabaret; The Muppet Show, 1978

Quirky Victorian Taxidermist Walter Potter Documentary: Finishing Funds Campaign

Walter Potter, as regular readers of this blog will already know, was a self-taught Victorian country taxidermist who created quirky tableaux peopled by tea-drinking kittens, arithmetic-doing rabbits and gambling rats; his work is the subject of the new book Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy, which you can purchase by clicking here or at The Morbid Anatomy Library during our Saturday 2-6 PM open hours.
 
Ronni Thomas of The Midnight Archive is currently working on a campaign to raise finishing funds for a brand new documentary film (!!!) about Mr. Potter and his work. As you will see in the amazing trailer above, Thomas has already assembled loads of incredible footage of rarely seen Potter pieces and interviews with the people who love and collect them. Thomas is now seeking to raise additional funds to finish the film at the level of quality it deserves.

Following is his plea, and above is his trailer. I hope you will join me in supporting this excellent project, which you can do by clicking here.

The Short Story
About a month back, we successfully raised money to begin production on our new film "Where Kittens Wed and Birds Lament" which is a short documentary on victorian taxidermist Walter Potter. The film is a production of the Midnight Archive (www.themidnightarchive.com) and Morbid Anatomy with the help of the publishers of the new book Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy. The filming went far better than we could have imagined and as we pull things together it becomes apparent that we need just a bit more to really make this piece as unique and interesting as potter's work... This doc aims to creatively tell the story of Potter and his wonderful creations -  HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ORIGINAL FUNDRAISER

HONEST PLEA
This film has been getting some very amazing attention and aims to be a great project.  It has been my life for the past 2 months. Its an absolute labor of love - but your help (and love) make it so much more of a great thing. Already we've been on Japanese Television, written up on Boing Boing, Laughing Squid, and i09 as well as two pieces on The Huffington Post. Getting the word out is imperative! We TRULY hope to get this film done the right way...

What We Need
Here is a pretty detailed list of where any funds raised in this campaign will go:

• Graphics and Style - Whats a great film without ground-breaking and unique graphics? I have my team standing by and while they are willing to work VERY cheap - they still need to feed their families!
• Additional footage needed - as much as we shot we still have several gaps to fill which requires gear/rentals
• Audio Mixing - the film is getting a wonderful original score from the ever amazing Real Tuesday Weld and we need to make sure you can hear everything!
• Title Sequence- We have an amzing title sequence lined up complete with cinematic, beautiful shots of actual taxidermy

Who Are We?
The film is a production of The Midnight Archive, which is an award winning web documentary series that aims to document the uncanny, the surreal, the strange, dark and truly unique. The entire series can be viewed (free of charge!) online - our partner on the production is Morbid Anatomy - the very popular blog which surveys the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture.

Again, you can learn more--and support!--this excellent project by clicking here.

Silent Film Star Theda Bara with Skeleton, 1915; Publicity Still from the "A Fool There Was" Based on Rudyard Kipling's "The Vampire"

Silent film star Theda Bara, "The first vamp." (1885-1955) in a publicity still for the 1915 film A Fool There Was. This film was based on Rudyard Kipling's 1897 poem "The Vampire" which explores the popular fin de siècle trope of the destructive allure of the femme fatale or "vampire;" You can read the poem in its entirety by clicking here. A Jewess from Ohio, Bara's real name was Theodosia Burr Goodman; as explained by IMDB:

According to the studio biography Theda Bara (anagram of "Arab Death") was born in the Sahara to a French artiste and his Egyptian concubine and possessed supernatural powers. In fact, her father was a Cincinnati tailor. By 1908 she appeared in Broadway's "The Devil" named Theodosia de Coppett. In 1914 she met Frank Powell who cast her as The Vampire in A Fool There Was (1915), the role from which we have the word "vamp" -- a woman who saps the last sexual energies from middle-aged respectable men, no more than slaves crawling at her feet. In some of her publicity photos all that remains of her devoured victims are their skeletons before her on the floor. Most of these period parts (Salome (1918), Cleopatra (1917), Camille (1917)) were filmed from 1915 to 1919.

Image from The Secret Life of Anna Blanc- mystery, murder, and romance in 1900s L.A. Thank you Eve Marie Bordoli-Brown for sending this image my way!

Victorian Anthropomorphic Taxidermist Walter Potter Documentary Teaser

 

Here is a rough graphic treatment for some of the stills along with the musical tone by the ever amazing Real Tuesday Weld - just a quick fun little piece - if we can raise some additional funds i have a fantastic visual effects team who have offered a very good rate to make this piece the work of art it needs to be!  thanks so much for your support!

The above just in from Ronni Thomas, director of the upcoming documentary on British Victorian anthropomorphic taxidermist Walter Potter (more on that here.)

For those of you who have been following this Kickstarter campaign, Ronni has reached his base number and is now campaigning to raise additional funds which will enable him to film more collections around the world and make this the best film it can be.

If you have not already done so, I implore you to join me in supporting this very worthy project!

You can find out more--or make a donation!--by clicking here.

New Documentary Film About Victorian Anthropomorphic Taxidermist Walter Potter? Yes Please!

As many regular readers know, these last few months I have been hard at work on a new book about Walter Potter, the British Victorian anthropomorphic taxidermist best remembered for such epic tableaux as Kittens’ Wedding (4th image), Rabbits’ Village School (3rd image) and The Death and Burial of Cock Robin. The tiny museum in which he showcased these tableaux--along with sundry freaks (bottom image) and curiosities--was open to the public for nearly one hundred and fifty years until it was, tragically, divided at auction in 2003.

Entitled Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy, this new, lavishly illustrated book will celebrate the life and work of Walter Potter; it aims to reunite--if virtually!--his curious collection which is now, sadly, scattered around the world in a scores of private collections. It features droll and informative text by Potter scholar and collector Dr. Pat Morris; a charming foreword by pop art legend (and Potter enthusiast) Sir Peter Blake; and dozens of brand new photos of some of the most important of Potter's pieces.

The publisher and I invited Ronni Thomas--the man behind the Midnight Archive web series--to produce a video trailer for the book. Ronni became so completely captivated with the subject that he has decided to create, in addition to said trailer, a brand new documentary film based on Walter Potter's life and work.

I think we can all can agree that what the world really needs is a documentary film about the amazing life and work of Walter Potter. And in order to raise funds to complete this project in the style it deserves, Ronni has done what kids today do: He has launched a Kickstarter campaign, from whence the short film above.

I implore you to join me in supporting this worthy cause. And not just out of the kindness of your heart! Funders of this project will also receive a variety of exciting awards including (but not limited to) deluxe DVD/Blue Ray versions of the final film, a special advance copy of the book Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy, special limited edition Potter postcards featuring never before seen photographs, and even, for the highest bidders, a custom film made especially for you. You will also, of course, receive film maker Ronni Thomas' undying gratitude, and contribute towards making the world a better place.

Following is more about the project, in Ronni's own words; You can find out more about this very worthy campaign (and join me in making a pledge!) by clicking here.

The Taxidermy Wonders of Walter Potter: A Short(?) Film
A short documentary featuring the life and strange artwork of amateur taxidermist Walter Potter by Ronni Thomas of The Midnight Archive.

Walter Potter was a Victorian self-taught taxidermist from Sussex, England who is best known for his large-scale anthropomorphic taxidermy tableaux including The Kittens’ Wedding, Rabbits’ Village School and The Death and Burial of Cock Robin. Until very recently, his truly unique collection has only been seen in its entirety by those fortunate enough to have visited his museum before the contents were auctioned to private collectors in 2003. For the first time – and with the help of historians, photographers, and collectors of his work – I intend to document Potter's life, creations and legacy in the latest installment of my award-winning Midnight Archive web series. The Midnight Archive generally consists of short (3–5 minute) pieces, and I have for some time been eager to grow these short 'episodes' into greater and longer stories. I feel that an episode about the life and work of Walter Potter is the perfect project to take to this next level. To do this right will require a little more than the casual subway ride around town. A project of this size will require a budget to make it happen, and I am hoping that I can persuade Potter fans and enthusiasts to pitch in to help make this the great film it deserves to be.

This film will feature some of the very first footage of these fantastic creations over one hundred years in age, many of which are now scattered around the globe in the homes of private collectors and thus nearly impossible to see. Among the collectors I will seek out to play their part are Sir Peter Blake – seminal pop artist, designer of the Sgt. Pepper album cover, and enthusiastic Potter collector – and artist Damien Hirst, who allegedly tried to pay one million pounds to halt the auction and keep the Potter collection intact. The film will also take you behind the scenes into an assortment of fascinating private collections in the US and the UK.  Most importantly, and as always with the work I do, the piece will be thorough, dynamic and beautiful. Please donate all you can!

Risks and challenges
So, Potter's work is now scattered around the globe and owned by many different collectors. Many of the people are not easy to pin down, or are wary of talking to just anyone. Using the track record and proven integrity of The Midnight Archive series, and my connections with the co-author Morbid Anatomy's Joanna Ebenstein and publishers of Walter Potter's Curious World of Taxidermy – the delightful new coffee table book coming out this September – I have not only unprecedented access to many never-before-seen photographs, but also to many of the narrative's key players. Most importantly, if anyone is already familiar with the work I have created thus far, it becomes clear that I can do humble justice to this subject. I have many relationships with festivals and distributors, and I am well respected as a filmmaker, so I expect to gain a maximum amount of exposure for this project.

I will do this project whether or not this fundraising is successful; it will, however, be a longer and more in-depth work if we manage to raise the money. We're not asking for much, and all funds will go into the film itself (no first-class tickets on this shoot). Much like Potter himself, my intention is to make a great work of art, not capitalize on it...

Again! You can find out more or make a donation by clicking here.

Images:

• Bunny Schoolhouse: Found here 
• Kitten Wedding: The Telegraph; by Marc Hill/Apex
• 8 legged kitten postcard: Found here

"Dying on Screen," The Wellcome Collection, London, Saturday, January 19

Next Saturday at London's wonderful Wellcome Collection! If I lived in London, I would SO be here:

DYING ON SCREEN: SHORT FILM AND VIDEO BY ARTISTS
Saturday 19 January 2013
Free and Open to the Public

Death, say the sociologists, is a thing we perform. Wise to this, artists of all ilks have made works that comment on death as it happens on the stage of real life. This programme shows some of the best artist films on this topic. Curated by Wild Gift (Rosie Cooper and David Lillington). 

Fabienne Audéoud // Bonnie Camplin // Philip Hoffman // Adel Idris // Anna Molska // Artavazd Peleshian // Alexandre Périgot // Elizabeth Price // Araya Rasdjarmreansook // Michael Robinson

A day of artist film and video on death, to accompany Death: A Self Portrait at the Wellcome Collection.

The films will be screened on a loop. The programme begins at the following times: 11:00, 12:40, 14:20 and 16:00.

Wellcome Collection
183 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE

Location: The Forum (1st floor)
Free 

You can find out more about this event here.

Image: Still from Fabienne Audéoud, She Prepared the Staging of her Death, 2000

“Der Struwwelpeter” (“Shockheaded Peter”), German Film, 1955, Subtitles by Art of Bleeding

More holiday cheer, this time from our friends over at The Art of Bleeding, who have just posted excerpts from the rarely seen 1955 German film “Der Struwwelpeter” (“Shockheaded Peter”) embellished with their own, as they put it, "somewhat creative subtitles." The film is based on Heinrich Hoffmann's infamous, circa 1845 Gorey- and Oompa Loompa-inspiring cautionary children's book in which ill-behaved kinder receive graphic comeuppances for a variety of misbehaviors.

You can view one of my favorites above, and check out the entire collection by clicking here.

Actress Emma Stone Loves The Morbid Anatomy Library: "Vogue UK" and the "Herald Scotland," 2012

... How does [starlett Emma Stone's] obsession with mortality and death manifest itself? "By going to places like the Morbid Anatomy Library [in Brooklyn, New York] the other day, looking at little foetal pigs in jars. I have an interest in death. Obviously not constantly, but on a daily basis.

"There's an awareness of mortality, I think, that makes you live much more presently. There's something oddly comforting about death. Not dying. Dying, I'm terrified of, but death -" She pauses. "Sorry, am I getting really serious? Come on, we're in Cancun!"

-- "Emma Stone gets caught in Spider-Man's web," Herald Scotland, June 2012 (full article here)

A few months back, the Morbid Anatomy Library was graced with a visit by lovely, young and--apparently--morbidly inclined starlett Emma Stone, star of Easy A, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Help and, most recently, The Amazing Spiderman. She was trailed on this wine-soaked visit by reporter Alexa Chung of Vogue UK, and we spent a lovely rainy hour or two paging through some of my favorite books, poking around the taxidermy collection, and discussing our shared love for the macabre. The trip resulted not only in the expected article for Vogue UK--entitled "The Crazy Cool of Emma Stone," in the August 2012 issue--but also the piece from the Herlad Scotland quoted above.

You can read the entire Vogue UK article--in which you will  learn more about Stone's favorite books and artifacts in the collection, among other things--by clicking here, and the entire Herald Scotland piece by clicking here. Thanks so much to Jo Hanks for stumbling across the article, and for the donation of her very own issue of Vogue UK to this worthy cause! And thanks to good friend Eric Huang for alerting me.

Also, please feel free to come visit the library and see the collection for yourself during our next set of open hours this Saturday, September 15th, from 1-6. Details and directions here.

Photos of The Library by Shannon Taggart

Human Anatomy, Jan Švankmajer, “Historia Naturae,” 1967

A gif animation of some human anatomy from Jan Švankmajer's “Historia Naturae” (1967), as found on the Wunderkammer blog. You can watch this delightful film in its entirety by clicking here.

Quay Brothers Retrospective in New York City! "On Deciphering the Pharmacist's Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets," Museum of Modern Art, NYC

I just had the honor to view the beautifully installed and revelatory Quay Brothers retrospective "On Deciphering the Pharmacist's Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I have long been a fan of the Quay's work, and still, this exhibition had much to astonish, delight and surprise, situating the Quay's work within the larger context of an avant-garde tradition, and revealing the Quay's oeuvre to be much broader and richer than expected. Surprises and highlights included pen and ink drawings evoking a slightly less whimsical Edward Gorey, a mini-exhibition of the of the kind of Polish theater posters from the 1960s which inspired much of their work, and paintings by a scientific illustrator who mentored them in high school. Also of special interest, at least to me, was a collection of 8 mm Eastern European travel films which The Quay's collected as inspiration for their work; these grainy and blurred snatches of dark and forgotten streets, shop windows with wax mannequin heads, and church interior possess much of the atmosphere, mystery, and powerful detail evident the Quay's best works; they serve as both an excellent introduction to the exhibition and an illuminating key to their film work.

If you are able to visit the exhibition--which I very highly recommend!--make very sure not to miss the bottom floor portion of the exhibit, where you will find a collection of The Quay Brother's dioramic film decors installed in what feels like a furtive peepshow, a sort of perverse and surrealistic Musée Mécanique. Here you can immerse yourself in the tiny and exquisite sets from such films as Street of Crocodiles; Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme; The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes; and The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer; their wealth of detail rewards a careful and slow eye. Also, make sure to set some time aside to watch the films, many of which play in mini-theatres set up within the exhibition; the ballet piece The Sandman was an especial revelation to this viewer; dance and the Quays go surprisingly well together.

As we see in this exhibition, the through line of The Quay's long and storied careers--which has spanned drawing, painting, film, animation, theater and graphic design, and dioramic "film decors"-- is a sense of mysterious and compelling atmosphere created by an exacting and exquisite attention to detail: the craquelure of antique objects, a perfectly fractured piece of glass, the patina of caked on dirt, the hand-rendered imperfection of calligraphic script, the artful use of shadow, and, above all, a wonderful wit and humor that counterbalances the unapologetic inscrutability of the work. Do not miss this exhibition! You will never look at the work of the Quay Brothers the same way again. In a good way!

The exhibition will be on view at New York Museum of Modern Art from August 12–January 7.You can find out about the exhibition here. Also, the museum will be hosting a series of screenings of Quay Brothers films running the duration of the exhibition; you can find out more about that here.

All above images were taken in the exhibition.

Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant: An Illustrated Lecture and Screening with Mel Gordon, Author of "Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant", Observatory, June 3

We at Morbid Anatomy are SO excited to announce the return to Observatory of one of our all-time favorite speakers, that silver-tongued rogue scholar Mel Gordon, author of, among many other books, Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror, The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber; and Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin.

On Sunday, June 3, Mr. Gordon will be giving an illustrated lecture at Observatory based on his research for the book Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant followed by a special screening of "lost" film footage from Hanussen's 1919 "Hypnosis: Hanussen's First Adventure," a Caligari-like story of sex magic and the occult. Books will also be available for sale and signing.

For those who have not yet seen Mr. Gordon speak, trust me; this is a night not to be missed. Full details follow; hope very much to see you there!

Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant: An Illustrated Lecture and Screening with Mel Gordon, Author of "Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant"
An illustrated lecture and screening of "lost footage" with Mel Gordon, author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant and Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror
Date: Sunday, June 3 (please note date change from Monday, June 4)
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

"Historians digging into the archives to reconstruct the chronicle of the Twentieth Century will have to deal with this strange phenomenon of Erik Jan Hanussen, born Herschmann Steinschneider in the humble home of a poor Jewish actor in Vienna. It will be their task to unravel a complex maze of reality and legend, myth and romance, to reach the core of the true personality of Steinschneider, alias Hanussen, and his influence on one of the most significant chapters of European history, the ascent and reign of Adolf Hitler." --Pierre van Paassen, Redbook Magazine, "The Date of Hitler's Fall," May 1942

When Pierre van Paassen, the prominent Dutch author and foreign correspondent, wrote the above for McCall's Redbook Magazine, the "amazing exploits of Erik Jan Hanussen" were still hot international filler. What could have been more titillating than the true and enigmatic story of a Jewish mystic who helped usher in the Third Reich before  becoming one of its first victims?

Tonight, join Mel Gordon--author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant--for an illustrated lecture on the amazing story of Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant featuring a special screening of "lost" film footage from Hanussen's 1919 "Hypnosis: Hanussen's First Adventure," a Caligari-like story of sex magic and the occult, and other documentary sources. Books will also be available for sale and signing.

Mel Gordon is the author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant, Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror, Voluptious Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin, and many other books. Voluptious Panic was the first in-depth and illustrated book on the topic of erotic Weimar; The lavish tome was praised by academics and inspired the establishment of eight neo-Weimar nightclubs as well as the Dresden Dolls and a Marilyn Manson album. Now, Mel Gordon is completing a companion volume for Feral House Press, entitled Horizontal Collaboration: The Erotic World of Paris, 1920-1946. He also teaches directing, acting, and history of theater at University of California at Berkeley.

More here.

Psychedelic Psilocybin Mushroom Tourism and Anatomical Waxes: Tonight and Beyond at Observatory!

Tonight at Observatory, hope to see you for a screening of Kat Green's intriguing looking film "The Secret Life of Mushrooms," a documentary about psychedelic Psilocybin mushroom tourism in Mexico, followed by a Q and A with the filmmakers. Also coming up: workshops withc ceroplast Sigrid Sarda in wax anatomical votives and life and death masks; "Drawing from the Bestiary" class with Saul Chernick; an upcoming lecture with Mel Gordon about Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant; and the screening of a film detailing the unexpectedly dark history of Jell-O.


Full list of upcoming events follows; Hope to see you at one--if not more!--of these terrific events.

"The Secret Life of Mushrooms" -- Screening and Q and A with the Filmmakers
Screening of the film "The Secret Life of Mushrooms" with the film's producer/director Kathleen Green and interviewer Dan Glass
Date: TONIGHT Monday, May 21
Time: 8:00
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

"Kat Green's documentary on mushroom tourism in Mexico is a valuable and insightful examination of the fallout when global culture encounters indigenous sacred traditions. At a time when most of the focus is on ayahuasca tourism in the Amazon, Kat's documentary reminds us that mushroom tourism continues, as it has since the 60s. Well worth viewing!" – Dr. Dennis McKenna, co-author of The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching

Psilocybin mushrooms were first brought into the public consciousness in the late 1950's after R. Gordon Wasson discovered the ceremonial mushroom rituals of the Mazatec Indians in Mexico and published his findings in Life magazine.

 Huautla de Jimenez – the largest town in the Sierra Mazateca – was made famous amongst spiritual seekers, resulting in a hippie invasion to the remote mountain town that lasted over a decade. Today, mushrooms are still commonly used for healing, and have become a very public symbol of Huautla's pride in their culture.

 The Secret Life of Mushrooms features interviews with anthropologist and author of The Devil's Book of Culture, Ben Feinberg, local curandera Ines Cortes Rodriguez, Mazatec ritual specialist Edward Abse, and a wide variety of local historians, musicians, and business owners, as journalist Dan Glass investigates the long term cultural effects that outsiders have had on the small mountain town in the last 50 years.
Tonight, join filmmakers Kathleen Green and Dan Glass for a screening of The Secret Life of Mushrooms at Observatory, followed by a brief Q & A. You can find out more about the film by clicking here.

Kathleen Green (Producer/Director – The Secret Life of Mushrooms) Brooklyn filmmaker Kathleen Green has been working in film, video, and live event production since 1997. In that time, she has created documentaries, music videos, short films, and visual art with the goals of finding untold stories, exploring new ways to capture dance on camera, and generally making pretty things to look at.  Her work has been screened at the Dance on Camera Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, the New York Tango Film Festival, the 2007 Americans for the Arts Convention, the Pioneer Theatre, Collective: Unconscious, the Bowery Poetry Club, on the Fuse network, and at various galleries in Berlin. She has also worked with HBO, MTV, MSNBC, the Sundance Channel, VH1, Fuse, and the History Channel as a freelance editor and post supervisor.  She is currently developing a non-fiction series about fire artists and their work entitled Playing With Fire, and the dance film, Strange Attractors. 

Dan Glass (Interviewer – The Secret Life of Mushrooms) Dan Glass has written travel, science, and culture stories about such diverse subjects as solar eclipse chasing, Puerto Rican senior citizen bicycle gangs, the psychological effect of viewing earth from space, and flophouses in Coney Island, among others. He's traveled through over 40 countries on five continents, with highlights including excursions to Ethiopia's Omo Valley to find ritual stickfighting battles, solo horse treks through central Mongolia, and riverboat trips 800 miles down the Congo River. His work has been featured in outlets including Wired, NPR, Discover, and Playboy Online. He lives in New York City.

And onward and upwards:

• May 31: “Powder House” A Film about Jell-O: Screening of this film about this "symbol, multi-faceted and elusive; it’s silly, playful, funereal, American. It’s made from bones." Q and A with the filmmakers
• June 3: Life and Death Mask Making Workshop with Artist Sigrid Sarda *** Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
• June 3: (please note date change)  Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant: An illustrated lecture and screening of “lost footage” with Mel Gordon, author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant and Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror
• June 24: Anatomical Wax Votive Workshop with Artist Sigrid Sarda ***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
• June 25: Class: Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures: 4-Part Class with Artist Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University ***Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
• June 30: Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop: With former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
• June 30: Morbid Anatomy Library Post-Disaster Benefit SAVE THE DATE 
• July 7: Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop: With former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton
• July 13: Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig: Illustrated lecture by Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein, followed by afterparty featuring thematic music and specialty cocktails by Friese Undine

You can find out more about all events by clicking here.

Amazing Animated Gifs of a Circa 1920s Coney Island, from "Speedy," 1928

Animated gifs created from he nighttime Coney Island sequence featured the 1928 Harold Lloyd vehicle Speedy. You can watch the clip from which it is is drawn by clicking here.

Synopisis of the film, from IMDB:

Speedy (1928)
"Speedy" loses his job as a soda-jerk, then spends the day with his girl at Coney Island. He then becomes a cab driver and delivers Babe Ruth to Yankee Stadium, where he stays to see the game. When the railroad tries to run the last horse-drawn trolley (operated by his girl's grandfather) out of business, "Speedy" organizes the neighborhood oldtimers to thwart their scheme. Written by Herman Seifer

Found here.

Theosophy, Spiritualism and Grand Central Station: Part 2 of Occult NYC with Mitch Horowitz on The Midnight Archive

A new episode of The Midnight Archive--the web-based documentary series centered around Observatory--has just been uploaded and can be viewed above. In this episode, we continue our occult tour of New York City with Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America: White House Seances, Ouija Circles, Masons, and the Secret Mystic History of Our Nation and leader of our popular Observatory Occult Walking Tour. Part one of this piece can be viewed here.

Film maker Ronni Thomas--the creator of The Midnight Archive--has this to say about the episode:

EPISODE 08 : Occult NYC part 2 -- We return to NYC as Mitch Horowitz, Author of Occult America, takes us to some of the more mysterious places in this fine city. We'll learn about Madame Blavatsky's midtown occult salon, get some insight into Grand Central's mystic design, and in my case at least - become acquainted with the occult stylings of Fred F. French. Make sure to keep aware of Mitch's walking tour which is hosted by The Brooklyn Observatory and Pam Grossman. And don't forget to pick up Mitch's book at amazon.com.

For more on the series, to see former episodes, or to sign up for the mailing list so as to be alerted to future uploads, visit The Midnight Archive website by clicking here. You can also "like" it on Facebook--and thus be alerted--by clicking here.

Happy Holidays from Starewicz, Stop Motion Insects, and Morbid Anatomy

The Insects' Christmas (1913)
Rozhdestvo obitateley lesa (original title)
A Father Christmas ornament climbs down from a decorated tree, and goes to the forest. There he creates and decorates a Christmas tree for the forest creatures. He then invites all the insects, along with a friendly frog, to come and enjoy the gifts he has prepared, and to celebrate Christmas. Written by Snow Leopard

Found via my former intern Laetecia; Text via IMDB.

The Midnight Archive Episode 1: Modern Day Mummies, Online and Available for Viewing!

The Midnight Archives: Tales From the Observatory is a new web-based documentary series "centered around the esoteric and always exotic personalities that spring from Observatory," the Brooklyn-based event/gallery space I run with a handful of other collaborators. The series is created and directed by film-maker Ronni Thomas, who has plans to upload approximately one new episode per week to the new Midnight Archive website.

Episode one, entitled Modern Day Mummies--which documents the work of Sorceress Cagliastro, our esteemed Observatory mummification instructor--has just been uploaded and is now available for viewing! You can check out the video above, but make sure to keep visiting The Midnight Archive website (which can be found here) or sign up for their mailer in order to catch exciting, soon-to-be-uploaded episodes featuring such Observatory luminaries as anthropomorphic taxidermy teacher Sue Jeiven, automaton keeper Jere Ryder, and occult walking tour mastermind Mitch Horowitz. You can get a sense of some of the other pieces and personalities you have to look forward to by viewing the teaser on Boing Boing by clicking here.

And, just a quick FYI: We have a few last openings for Sorceress Cagliastro's next mummification class, which will take place October 9th; if you are interested in enrolling, please email me at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com; more on the class can be found here.

X-Rays and Lingerie, Vintage Commercial

WOW. Just stumbled upon this amazing German commercial on the Art of Bleeding blog. I could not find much information about it, and what I have found is contradictory--1930s or 1950s? Television or film?--but either way. Simply amazing.

This one goes out to Mark Dery, who's Observatory lecture "The Anatomical Unconscious: X-Ray Specs, Visible Women, and the Eros of the Unseen" brought down the house last June. Maybe he showed this clip? I will never know, as it was far too crowded for me to see the lecture myself!

You can read the entire post from which this was drawn by clicking here.

Quay Brothers Mütter Museum Film Premiere in Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles This September!

I have some exciting news! The details for the premiere of Through the Weeping Glass--the Quay Brothers' new documentary based on the collections of books, instruments, and medical anomalies at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Mütter Museum--have just been announced!

The film will launch with three epic premieres--one in Philadelphia at the Mütter Museum, one in New York at MoMA, and one in Los Angeles hosted by The Museum of Jurassic Technology. Each city's event will feature a moderated talk with the Quays, while the Mütter Philadelphia opening will also--excitingly!--be accompanied by an exhibition at the museum on the making of the film guest curated by MoMA's Barbara London.

Full details from the press release follow; tickets are, I am warned, selling fast, so act quickly if you want to attend! Hope to see you there.

Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum)
New Quay Brothers short film to premiere September 2011 in Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles

“To call the Quays’ work the most original and rapturously vivid image-making on the planet might sound like hyperbole until you see the films. . . .” —Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

Through the Weeping Glass: On the Consolations of Life Everlasting (Limbos & Afterbreezes in the Mütter Museum) is a documentary on the collections of books, instruments, and medical anomalies at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Mütter Museum. This short film (running time: 31 minutes) is the first made by the internationally recognized Quay Brothers in the United States.

As Malcolm Jones (Newsweek) has commented, “the Mütter Museum teaches you indelibly how strange life can be, how unpredictable and various [and] will revise and enlarge your idea of what it is to be human.” The coupling of the Quay Brothers’ vision with the collections of the College’s Historical Medical Library and Museum has produced a riveting experience of contemplative set pieces exploring the College and Mütter Museum. Adding to the film’s visual strength is a powerful musical score by composer Timothy Nelson and a resonant voice-over by Derek Jacobi.

The film premieres in three locations in September 2011, with a moderated conversation with the artists:

• September 22, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 6:30 PM (more here)
• September 24, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 8:00 PM (more here)
• September 27, Cary Grant Theater, SONY Pictures Studios, hosted by The Museum of Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles, 8:00 PM (more here)

An exhibition guest curated by Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art, The Museum of Modern Art, on the making of the film opens in September 2011 in the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Subsequent to the premiere screenings, the film will be available for purchase on DVD with an accompanying booklet.

ABOUT THE QUAY BROTHERS
Two of the world’s most original filmmakers, the Quay Brothers are identical twins who were born outside Philadelphia in 1947. The Quays studied illustration in Philadelphia before going on to the Royal College of Art in London, where they began making animated shorts in the 1970s. They have lived in London ever since.

They are best known for their classic 1986 film Street of Crocodiles, which filmmaker Terry Gilliam selected as one of the ten best animated films of all time. In 1994 they made their first foray into live-action feature-length filmmaking with Institute Benjamenta. The Quays’ work also includes set design for theatre and opera, including their 1998 Tony-nominated set designs for Ionesco’s The Chairs on Broadway. The Quays have also directed pop promos for His Name Is Alive, Michael Penn, Sparklehorse, 16 Horsepower, and Peter Gabriel (contributing to his celebrated “Sledgehammer” video), and have also directed ground-breaking commercials for, Honeywell Computers, ICI Wood, K. P. Skips, Nikon, BBC, Coca-Cola, Northern Rock, Dorritos, Roundup, Kellogs, Badoit water, Galaxy, MTV, Nikon, Murphy’s beer and Slurpee, amongst others.

In 2000 they made In Absentia, an award-winning collaboration with Karlheinz Stockhausen, as well as two dance films, Duet and The Sandman. In 2002 they contributed an animated dream sequence to Julie Taymor’s film Frida. The following year the Quays made four short films in collaboration with composer Steve Martland for a live event at the Tate Modern in London and in 2005 premiered their second feature film, The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes, at the Locarno Film Festival.

In addition to Through the Weeping Glass, the Quay Brothers’ other commissioned films over the past twenty years include Anamorphosis (1991), The Phantom Museum (2003), and Inventorium of Traces (2009).

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF PHILADELPHIA AND THE MÜTTER MUSEUM
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest professional medical organization in the country, was founded in 1787 when twenty-four physicians gathered “to advance the science of medicine and to thereby lessen human misery.” Today more than 1,400 Fellows (elected members) continue to convene at the College and work towards better serving the public.

Throughout its two-hundred-year history, the College has provided a place for both medical professionals and the general public to learn about medicine as both a science and as an art. The College is home to the Historical Medical Library and the Mütter Museum, America’s finest museum of medical history, which displays its beautifully preserved collections of anatomical specimens, models, and medical instruments in a nineteenth-century setting. The museum helps the public understand the mysteries and beauty of the human body and to appreciate the history of diagnosis and treatment of disease.

With an attendance exceeding 105,000 today, the Museum has become internationally well known, has been featured in a documentary on the Discovery Channel, and is the subject of two best-selling books.

This project has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative.

You can find out more about the opening in Philadelphia by clicking here, New York by clicking here, and Los Angeles by clicking here. You can find out more about the film itself and the accompanying exhibition guest curated by MOMA's Barbara London by by clicking here.

All images above are frame grabs from the film.