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

Context of the research

Prepared 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 objectives

The 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 benefits

The 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.

The proposed research network on prepared specimens - focussing on anatomical preservations and taxidermy - aims to collaborate with several museums and collections (in particular the Hunterian Museum, Gordon Museum, UCL collections in London, and the Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum at Charité abroad). Project partner is the Museum of Natural History, London. These institutions, and more indirectly comparable museums in and outside the UK, are immediate beneficiaries of the project.

Curators and conservators working in these institutions will benefit from the project, as the research network seeks to advance historical and theoretical understanding of prepared specimens and their specific aesthetics as well as the knowledge of past and present techniques of their fabrication. This knowledge is equally relevant to the scholarly engagement with prepared specimens and to practices of their conservation. The network will also focus on issues concerning the display of objects and of collections that are sensitive both in material and ethical respects. These topics are of direct importance to policy makers, curators, museum educators, conservators, and taxidermists. Thus it will inform decisions in relation to the safeguard of medical and natural history collections, the appropriate display of human remains, the restitution of human remains or other objects purchased within colonial contexts. Moreover, it will contribute to the question of the disposal or rededication of collections that have over time lost their scientific or educational significance.

The project will also benefit those working in the private sector such as artists, independent conservators or taxidermists. 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 rotting materials such as flesh or skin, and the preservation of art works that perish or were meant to decay is a conflicting issue that has become one of the most pressing questions for artists, conservators, museums, private galleries and the art market at large. In this respect, it is of utmost importance for conservators or artists alike to engage with professionals such as preparators or taxidermists who have acquired the expertise to handle these materials. Therefore, the art market, galleries, and auction houses, can be equally counted among the beneficiaries of this project.

A much broader audience will be reached by several public events and arenas. The events will be advertised via the project partner's regular mailing lists, plus additional relevant mailing lists. The conference will additionally be advertised by a poster/leaflet. The network will have a website in which a summary of the discussions held will be publicised. The website will link to an online exhibition which will be put together gradually during the course of the project and be set up in cooperation with our project partner, the involved museums and UCL collections. The idea is to open up specialist knowledge by introducing a selection of prepared specimens and by having each object accompanied by a short comment by one of the participants.

The research network aims to extend beyond the life of the award. One of the agendas of the project is to outline a proper exhibition on the topic (further funding will be raised for the exhibition as such) in collaboration with Natasha McEnroe (UCL Grant Museum of Zoology) and Simon Gould (UCL Contemporary Projects Curator). This show will explore and demonstrate new ways of displaying preserved specimens from scientific and artistic contexts, and through the collaboration of scholars, curators and artists. It aims to have an impact on future exhibition policies.