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Upon entering the exhibition, visitors first hear the amplified sound of a beating heart, then see the first plastinated specimen: a human heart, but that’s only the beginning.

In the first corridor, after passing preserved organs and body parts displayed under glass, observers see the first whole body specimen titled “The Javelin Thrower.” His skinless and organ-less torso, posed in a throwing position, features an open rib cage and a clear view of the entire body’s muscle structure and reproductive system. While walking through the presentation amid the masses of chatting school children and confused observers many different reactions can be heard all at once – or none at all, from the diverse group of interested attendees.

Some stand and stare while others seem uncomfortable with the avante- garde displays that put show-goers face-to-face with the preserved dead. The plastination technique invented by German scientist Gunther von Hagans in 1977 preserves corpse tissue for decades by replacing blood, fat, water and other fluids with plastic and other hardening resins.

Hagans work has been the focal point of controversy over the following centuries as critics have a difficult time deciphering his Frankenstein-like projects. Some are overwhelmed with his work that includes a pregnant woman posed lying on her side, her stomach revealing an eight-month-old fetus,The inner workings of the human body are illustrated in detail, offering a clear view of the entire body’s muscle structure and reproductive system. Critics argue that bodies intended for medical research are instead ending up as “undignified” displays of art.

not to mention the several animal specimens such as a chicken, lamb, a horse and others. Hagans is currently working on larger projects including a gorilla and a giraffe. Many are concerned with the ethical issues such as profit making and body collecting, but Hagans assured the public that his work is legitimate and approved by the body donors prior to their deaths. Other specimens are donated by museums and other valid organizations.

The body donation contract includes a clause that addresses the issue of profits. Other critics argue that bodies intended for medical research are instead ending up as “undignified” displays of art.

In response to such claims Hagans said, “I think just [the] opposite.” Consider the medical research technology in times of ancient Egypt, “Nobody would come and say do not show the whole body specimen . they would just cut the body in pieces put it in a fluid . all color is away . even green cucumbers are better preserved,” Hagans said.

During that time scientists would get perhaps one days use of the specimens and if that were still the case today, “then it would be derogative.” Hagans argues his work is featured on a different premise: beauty beneath the skin frozen in time between death and decay. Hagans described much of the work as being simply, “My mental preparation, my mental dissection is most important.”

First, he visually separates the specimen into planes and arranges the organs. He compared the process to rearranging a bedroom. He opens “body doors” and segments the body observing very carefully “what has been taken away.” The scientist, coined “Dr. Frankenstein” by some, said he considers a picture photo. Many look at a picture and take it for what it’s worth, Hagans said.

He sees a human body and asks himself, “What do I not see here?” This will be the third time Hagans’s work has been displayed at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. His humble beginnings in a laboratory attracted the attention of university staff that inspired him to arrange the first expo in Pforzheim, Germany in 1983. His plastination

research is now independently funded with no help from the state or educational institutes. He has laboratories in Germany, America and China that employ about 350 people who handle different business factors such as organizing expos,picking up bodies and technologydevelopment. Hagans patented his technology in 1979, but recent litigation has deemed his patent expired.

Since those rulings, copycat scientists have attempted to replicate his work. Hagans described this as problematic for business. The estimated

20 businesses world wide that produce similar work, use unclaimed bodies and illegitimate practices to produce specimens on a larger scale, Hagans said.”[I am] not interested in mass production,rather with masterpieces.”

“Body Worlds 3: The original exhibition of real human bodies and the story of the heart,” is being featured until September. Hagans intends for exhibition visitors to walk away with a new appreciation of the human body and a newly found sense of pride for the body’s systems.

Editor’s note: This story does not include three sources which goes against the Daily Titan style. Body Worlds would not allow our reporter to talk to attendees of the event. Instead they offered the use of quotes from a “quote book” from their Public Relations Department.Since it was virtually impossible to verify the information and objectivity in the quotes, we decided to run the story with only one source.