The Art of Dissection

Time Spent: 15 hrs

This piece was completed for my College's Senior CME(Core Milestone Experience) project, where I decided to take what I learned mainly from my Chordate Anatomy class, and both my handbuilding and wheelthrowing ceramics class, and create a project that focuses on an enduring question I wanted to pursue through these classes. My enduring question was:
- What is the connection between anatomy learned in science, and how it can be applied to artistic expression?

In this project, I explored the skills I had gained in handbuilding and wheelthrowing ceramics, to create a piece that allows the viewer to step into a Pre-Vet student's world, specifically into the Chordate Anatomy Lab. While I wanted to make this into a fully modeled from clay piece, there was simply no time for it, so I adapted to a digital painting format.

The concept of this was to paint a scene in the lab, during the dissection of a cat in order to study the muscles, however to hopefully give off the feeling that it wasn't being treated with the respect it deserves by having the chance to use its body for science. I tried to convey these notions by leaving the tools in the cat, as the person who was in the middle of the dissection, presumably stepping back to take a picture. I also added cool toned effects, and a single big light on the cat, as if it was in spotlight. This is because in the labs during these types of classes, while the intended point of the class is to delve into the bodies of animals and learn all about their skeletons, muscles, and unique features, we simply do not get enough time to step on each animal. This leads to people quickly dissecting the animal just to get the pictures they need, before they either get shoved into a bag for next week, or even just simply throwing them out. This can lead to the atmosphere feeling cold and rushed, and I feel is a problem with anatomy labs in general.

This is not inherently the fault of the teacher, the students, or even the college, but rather the natural pace of college. With lives so precious, I wish the programs would focus on less animals, and spend more weeks on each one. Rather than spend a day on the lamprey and perch, and then like 3 classes on the mudpuppy, dogfish shark, and cat, we should focus on animals that are important for future vets. We should leave the lamprey and mudpuppy in the past, and maybe bring in a dog or snake instead, as those are more popular animals.