In our previous posts, we walked through écorché’s journey from its controversial and scientific beginnings to becoming a widely adapted method of study in science and fine arts programs. Today, artists continue to engage with écorché as a resource and inspiration for contemporary works.
The centuries-old art of écorché continues to be taught in art schools, guiding students as they incorporate dynamic positions and movement in their work [1]. By understanding muscle groups and skeletal structures, artists learn how to represent the complexities of anatomical angles and proportions.
What do modern écorché education and works look like?
The New York Academy of Art, an excellent example of contemporary arts’ education, requires anatomy courses in their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in addition to a series of écorché intensives. The academy also offers an Anatomy Track within the program to help both professional artists as they enhance their understanding of the human body and students preparing for a career specifically teaching anatomy [2].
Écorché also continues to impact and inform the medical field and its practitioners. Rutgers University is home to the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Anatomical Association Body Program, which accepts donations from anyone willing to contribute their bodies to scientific research and education after they die [3]. These donations help medical programs provide hands-on dissection opportunities to their students.
As technology has advanced, so too have tools in the écorché space. The team behind Anatomy for Sculptors created a Human Proportions Calculator and a 3D anatomy model of digital écorchés [4]. By studying the model’s simulated movements, artists can learn how muscle groups flex and interact. A strong advantage to studying digital écorchés is how quickly they can be manipulated while remaining highly accurate and detailed.
Contemporary artists in the écorché space
Christine Borland
Christine Borland examines medical techniques, environments, and her experience working with a human skeleton as she investigates the potential for fostering empathy through anatomy studies. Her sculptures explore the human body’s limits and expressive nature as she manipulates her figures to represent a range of both physical and mental states of being [5].
Image 1. From Life by Christine Borland. Source.
Image 2. BODY WORLDS by Gunther von Hagens. Source.
Gunther von Hagens
For decades, Dr. Gunther von Hagens internationally renowned exhibition, “BODY WORLDS,” has been educating the public on the inner workings of the human body with the hope of helping people better understand themselves [6]. It features real bodies preserved using the plastination method.
Marsha Pels
Marsha Pels’ recent work memorializes her mother and creates an embodiment of her former boyfriend through reimagined encounters with their flesh and bones. Her sculpture Dead Cowboy features components of a skeleton that now take control of her ex’s motorcycle [7]. Her mournful work Écorché includes pale casts of her gloved hands in a rib cage formation on the backdrop of her mother’s mink coat, creating a metaphysical rendition of the traditional flayed-skin representation [8].
Image 3. Dead Cowboy by Gunther von Hagens. Source.
Annette Wickham, Curator
Annette Wickham, Curator of Works on Paper at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, shares that some écorchés can be controversial. Ethical questions arise around respect for the dead when dealing with any form of human remains. At the Royal Academy, she researches the origins of their collection’s écorchés by identifying the bodies used to make the plaster casts [9].
Écorché: What has been transformed?
Advances in technology make écorchés readily available. While cadaver research is still used in medical schools, artists can now look to 3D models and digital visualizations as an accessible and accurate alternative.
At Écorché Studios, we learn from the complex history of this art form and seek out developments that can unleash new possibilities for the arts and sciences. Click here to learn more about opportunities to practice the art of écorché and explore scientific methods in fine art.
Sources
[1] Uriél Danā, “Écorché: The Art and Science of Seeing Through Others,” Uriél Danā Fine Art, July 1, 2019, accessed July 5, 2023, https://www.urieldana.com/articles/art/ecorche/ .
[2] New York Academy of Art, accessed July 5, 2023, https://nyaa.edu/graduate-program/curriculum/anatomy/
[3] Rutgers University, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, “About the RWJMS Anatomical Association Body Donor Program”, accessed July 5, 2023, https://rwjms.rutgers.edu/departments/neuroscience-and-cell-biology/anatomical-association/about-the-association
[4] Anatomy for Sculptors, “3D anatomy model - L'écorché combattant”, accessed July 5, 2023, https://anatomy4sculptors.com/article/3d-anatomy-model-lecorche/
[5] Richardson, Craig. Borland, Christine. “Talking about a Christine Borland sculpture: effective empathy in contemporary anatomy art (and an emerging counterpart in medical training?)”, July 24, 2015, accessed July 5, 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003090/
[6] Body Worlds, accessed July 7, 2023, https://bodyworlds.com/exhibitions/human/
[7] “Marsha Pels: 'My Work Scares People'”. Frieze. Retrieved July 6, 2023, from https://www.frieze.com/video/marsha-pels-my-work-scares-people
[8] Écorché Studios, “Best of 2022”, February 21, 2023, accessed July 6, 2023, https://ecorchestudios.com/blog/2023/2/best-of-2022
[9]The Polyphony, “Exhibiting Anatomy: a curators’ roundtable”, September 24, 2021, accessed July 6, 2024,https://thepolyphony.org/2021/09/24/exhibiting-anatomy-a-curators-roundtable/