Gunther von Hagens
Gunther von Hagens is one of my favourite anatomists, and the person who invented plastination! I went to the on of the Body Worlds shows last year and was fascinated by the specimens. The intricacy and attention to detail completely astounded me when I first saw them (and still do now). I personally think plastination is a great work of innovation. It offers to the public a rare glimpse of the complexity of the human body first-hand. One may initially think that this macabre display of human tissue may be taken as perverse on the bodies of the deceased (with death being a touchy-feelly/taboo subject and all…), but surprisingly, many of the public have delved into this art with appreciation. The Body Worlds shows have been attended by billions (around 26 million) of people and one of the latest ones have even managed to attract 20,000 school children on biology trips. In 2002, von Hagens reintroduced public dissection to the UK, after more than 70 years since the last one was performed.
SumYu World 