The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) presents Anatomy/Academy, the first exhibition of its kind to explore the intersection of art and medical science in Philadelphia, on view January 29 – April 17, 2011. This unique collaboration between PAFA’s curators of Historical, Modern, and Contemporary art brings to light exciting points of contact between artists and anatomists. Anatomy/Academy will enlighten, entertain, and even shock curious visitors with its focus on the body as machine, miracle, work of art, and object to be examined.
Philadelphia’s art and medical schools have been engines of innovation and the expansion of knowledge since the 18th century. Anatomy/Academy explores that convergence of art and science, including perhaps best-known embodiment of that nexus –Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece, The Gross Clinic, which returns to PAFA for this exhibition. Over the years, Philadelphia’s dynamic art and science communities have often fostered knowledge of the human body through collaborating on and sharing discoveries, transforming public attitudes toward mental and physical health, and challenging conceptions about beauty.
“Many of PAFA’s artists have been active participants in historical moments, helping to shape the public view of the meaning of the body and its place in the broader world,” says Anna Marley, PAFA’s Curator of Historical American Art. “Anatomy/Academy invites visitors to share that path of discovery and revel in the science and beauty of the human body through time.”
Drawing on PAFA’s rich collections, and complemented by major loans from Philadelphia institutions, private collections, and museums, Anatomy/Academy will include drawings, photographs, paintings, sculpture, ephemera, and material culture dating from the 18th century to today that deal with changing conceptions of the body in Philadelphia’s scientific and artistic culture.
Organized around historical “flash-points” such as the founding of PAFA in 1805, the unveiling of The Gross Clinic in 1876, and the impact of World War I, the exhibition includes some of the best-known works in American art presented in new contexts. A coda to the main installation will feature a rarely seen series of paintings of World War II paintings by Magic Realist Bernard Perlin and works by contemporary artists based in Philadelphia for whom the theme of art and anatomy continues to be important. These artists include Pepon Osorio, Donald Lipski, and the collective TODT. A parallel exhibition in the Annenberg Gallery will highlight images of the body from PAFA’s collection since 1960.
Anatomy/Academy includes works by William Rush, Thomas Eakins, Christian Schussele, Thomas Anshutz, Alice Barber Stephens, Edweard Muybridge, Charles Grafly, Marcel Duchamp, Robert Henri, Ivan Albright, John Sloan, and Arthur B. Carles.
“This exhibition explores Philadelphia’s leadership role in art and medicine, and the long, mutually beneficial dialog between these disciplines,” remarks David R. Brigham, PAFA’s President & CEO.
An extensive array of public programming will accompany the exhibition, including partnerships with local science institutions such as American Philosophical Society Museum; Archives & Special Collections, Scott Memorial Library; Drexel University College of Medicine; The Library Company of Philadelphia; The Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Thomas Jefferson University, and The Wistar Institute.
Major support from Drexel University College of Medicine, Bill and Laura Buck, and Marguerite and H.F. Gerry Lenfest. Additional support from Julie and Robert Spahr. WHYY is a proud media sponsor.
www.pafa.org