The Anatomy Lesson: 1977
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I had a unique opportunity in the summer of 1977 to document an anatomy lesson with medical students at the Kresge Science Center, Temple University Medical College. Here is an excerpt from my artist statement about the experience published in Folio Magazine, Rochester Institute of Technology, 1978.
“The body is a container for our great spirit. Photographing in this environment allowed me to appreciate the inner machinery of the body that enables our spirit to thrive and perceive the world. Death should not be feared because it terminates the existence of the body only, but not the un-perishable spirit. The spirit continually transforms itself through the process of rebirth until it becomes manifested in a body that breathes perfect health (one that is free from stress and strain). When this level of perfection is attained through meditative practices a more fulfilling state of life spontaneously develops and evolves.
Bodies are utilized by the spirit to actively participate in the world to develop a very specific state of life. That state of life is oftener referred to as enlightenment by mystics and religious scholars. The enlightenment state of consciousness is an expanded state of awareness and releases the spirit from the cycle of rebirth. Enlightenment is the gateway to normal life, that which is eternal. In essence, we simply are not our bodies.”
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