The Culture of Preservation. The afterlife of specimens between art and science since the eighteenth century

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Context of the researchPrepared specimens appear in many guises: as stained and fixed tissue slices, as monstrous or typical organs preserved in formaldehyde and kept in glass jars not unlike pickled food, or as skilfully arranged stuffed animals. They may be found in cabinets of curiosities, in the laboratories of histologists, in anatomy theatres or in natural history collections, but nowadays equally in art galleries and the shop windows of fashionable boutiques. This project is concerned with such kinds of preserved natural objects, in particular with anatomical wet preparations and taxidermy since the eighteenth century. It will consider the hybrid status of these objects between nature and representation, art and science.Research on the material culture of science has been a thriving field in the history and anthropology of science for the past two decades. Recently scientific objects and images have also become of interest for historians of art and visual culture. The network will take these issues further by considering scientific objects with regards to their aesthetics and to their cultural significance. It will also consider the role artists played since the beginning of the twentieth century in calling attention to the aesthetics and politics of natural history museums and their objects.The network is a collaboration with several museum and collections, in particular The UCL Grant Museum for Zoology and medical collections; The Hunterian Museum, London; and The Museum of Natural History.Aims and objectivesThe research network takes a cross-disciplinary approach and aims to advance the exchange between zoologists, taxidermists, anatomical preparators, conservators, curators and scholars from various disciplines of the humanities as well as with artists. It will further the understanding of the transformation prepared specimens undergo from living organism to didactic object, collectible item or artwork, and of the processes these things are involved in as they are displayed and handled, conserved, re-arranged, or exposed to new audiences. These discussions shall lead to an interdisciplinary agenda in the understanding of scientific objects. The objective is to creatively think about ways of how to exhibit prepared specimens, in particularly sensitive materials, which means to address the ethical issues involved in the display of human remains. The research network aims to extend beyond the life of the grant and one of the agendas is to outline a proper exhibition on the topic.Potential applications and benefitsThe network will, for the first time, provide a multidisciplinary approach to prepared specimens, their history and material idiosyncrasies.Beneficiaries will be in particular:- Historians of science will benefit from the broadening of the perspective towards the aesthetic and cultural dimension of prepared specimens.- Art or cultural historians as well as artists will benefit from the engagement with prepared specimens as these objects challenge traditional notions of representation. The project will open a new field of art historical research and artistic practices, it will thus enrich these disciplines in general.- Museums, museologists and curators will benefit from the discussion of the ethical implications of the display of human remains and of new forms of exhibiting scientific objects.- Independent conservators or taxidermists are among the potential non-academic beneficiaries of the project. The question of how to deal with ephemeral organic substances is not limited to the field of scientific objects: Artists have been increasingly working with organic materials, and the preservation of art works that (were meant to) decay has become one of the most pressing questions also for museums, private galleries and the art market at large.