Destruction and Creativeness

[heslopian]

About 8 years back there was a gallery opening showcasing what I am going to refer to as cadaver art. Various bodies were used. Some had pictures carved into the flesh, some had intestines and other organs 'artistically' arranged outside the body. I found it interesting, and while I can appreciate the aesthetic of pushing boundaries at the end of the day I feel this type of thing to be desecratory as well as needless sensationalism.

If those cadavers, while alive, had signed over their bodies to be used specifically for such purposes then I have no problem with it and can see how it might be called art. But when you harm someone against their will the only emotions which can be evoked for a sane person I think are sadness and disgust. With cadavers it's a wee bit more complex. I'd still argue that it isn't moral to desecrate somebody's corpse, by which I mean to use it without their consent, but it isn't the same as torturing a live person. You're playing with an empty shell, like you might paints or marble, and so I wonder if it is reasonable for some to consider that showcase you mention art.

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Thanks for the kind words and feedback AA The daffodils line refers to this poem by William Wordsworth: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/daffodils/ Specifically the ending.
I really like your idea about putting what was on the photograph I mention in quotes. Something like "pity me becaus i bleed"[sic] would work well.